The ReAdvisory group of reinsurance intermediary Carvill released a new index for measuring hurricane damage, HDPI (Hurricane Damage Potential Index), formulated by its atmospheric physicist Dr. Steve Smith.

According to Carvill, there are potential inadequacies of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS) with regard to the insurance industry. For instance, the current SSHS classifies hurricanes in categories from 1 to 5, and meteorologists have had to quantify SSHS categories as either "strong" or "weak." Hurricane Katrina was a "strong" Category 3 at landfall, but that classification did not suggest its actual physical impact. HDPI incorporates other factors, such as sustained wind speed and the radius to hurricane force winds. HDPI also is a continuous measurement, rather than a scale, starting from one with no maximum value.

At one point in its life 2005′s Hurricane Wilma was the strongest storm on record. Yet the HDPI notes that, at its strongest, Hurricane Katrina had more potential for damage than Wilma, despite its lower wind speed, in view of the fact that Katrina was a far wider storm. The SSHS would not have been able to make this distinction clear, said Carvill.

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