Hurricane Milton Could Cause $175B In Losses If It Hits Tampa: Analyst

Hurricane Milton could cause $175 billion in losses if forecasts that call for it to make landfall near Tampa Bay prove accurate.

Yaron Kinar, a stock analyst for Jefferies Financial group, told investors in a note Tuesday that a "major hurricane impact in one of Florida's most heavily populated regions could result in mid-double-digit billion dollar loss," CNBC reported.

Kinar said some experts anticipate $175 billion in losses if Milton were to strike near Tampa Bay, which is surrounded by the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

A landfall near Fort Myers, about 95 miles south of Tampa Bay, would likely result in $70 million in losses, Kinar said. Both areas are known for expensive homes along the Gulf coast waterfront.

In 2002, Hurricane Ian caused more than $50 million in losses after making landfall near Fort Myers, CNBC said.

Wells Fargo told its investors that the potential damage from Milton could range from $10 to $100 billion, the cable network said.

Jeff Waters, director of North American hurricane models for Moody's said during an appearance on CNBC that it was "too early to tell" what sort of damage Milton could inflict.

Moody's estimated Tuesday that private insurance losses from Hurricane Helene, which battered Florida and several other southern states last month, would range from $8 billion to $14 billion, with a best estimate of $11 billion.

Waters noted that "the building codes in the state of Florida are some of the strongest in the country."

"But it will be challenging, especially with all that debris that is still on the roads in places like Tampa, that it's just going to make matters a heck of a lot worse when it comes to seeing the oncoming impacts of Milton," he said.

Waters also said that the coastline from Tampa to Fort Myers had exposure to "not just insured losses but damage to economics."

"So we couldn't say quite yet but this is going to be quite a noteworthy event across the board, whether you are talking about insured or economic losses," he said.