FEMA

Five Florida Keys men ripped off the federal government and received thousands of dollars in recovery money after Hurricane Irma struck last year, the Monroe County State Attorney's Office said.

As ominous as the dark smoke that choked the Bay Area while California's most destructive wildfire raged 200 miles north, a second tragedy now is looming over the state — the loss of thousands of homes in an already housing-starved region.

Destruction from Michael's storm surge and flooding has potential to affect 57,000 homes, with a worst-case total of $13.4 billion in reconstruction cost value, according to CoreLogic's latest estimates.

Delinquencies will be on the rise and Veterans Affairs loans have greater density within FEMA-declared disaster zones from Hurricane Florence, according to Black Knight.

Similar to estimates published by Moody's and Morningstar, the data provider reckons that more than half of the loans are securitized by Fannie, Freddie or Ginnie.

Florence's flooding and wind destruction affected about 700,000 residential and commercial properties across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, according to CoreLogic's latest estimates.

The mortgage delinquency rate dropped to its lowest level in over 12 years, but servicers should expect an increase following the impact of Hurricane Florence, according to Black Knight.

The federal government has paid out $163.9 million in flood insurance for 1,100 homes in North Carolina with severe repeitive losses, which is almost 60% of their combined total value.

While the severity of Florence was reduced prior to Friday morning's landfall, mortgage servicers are taking proactive steps in addressing the emergency situation.

The serious mortgage delinquency rate sank to its lowest June reading in 11 years, though recent natural disasters pose risk to loan performance in affected areas, according to CoreLogic.