As Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction up the Gulf Coast and across the Southeast U.S., economic research company Moody's Analytics says it expects to see $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage as a result of the storm.

Meanwhile, AccuWeather, which originally estimated Helene's damage to be between $95 billion and $110 billion, has increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Helene to between $145 billion and $160 billion. 

According to AccuWeather, Helene will go down as one of the most damaging storms in U.S. history, along with Hurricane Ian (2022), which caused between $180 billion and $210 billion in total damage and economic loss; Hurricane Harvey (2017),  $190 billion in total damage and economic loss; Hurricane Irma (2017), which caused $80 billion in total damage economic loss; Superstorm Sandy (2012), which caused $210 billion in total damage and economic loss; and Hurricane Katrina (2005), the costliest storm on record, with $320 billion in total damage and economic loss as adjusted for inflation. 

Hurricane Helene also caused never-before-seen levels of storm surge throughout the Tampa Bay region, including Sarasota and Manatee counties, where storm surge was between 5-7 feet.