Half of the planned data centers in the US are highly exposed to destructive storms and other natural disasters, according to research from specialty global re/insurer MS Amlin.
As US data center development shifts to the south of the country, the insurer claims developers are putting themselves at risk of tornadoes, large hail, and severe storms, termed together as severe convective storms (SCS), as well as hurricanes, winterstorms, and earthquakes.
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MS Amlin said that in its analysis of more than 670 data center projects under construction or planned across the US, 56 percent are being built in states at high risk of destructive weather and natural disasters, with nearly $800 billion in investment “highly exposed” to such risks.
Some 51 percent of these data centers are being built in states with high risk of SCS, just over a quarter (27 percent) are planned for states with high risk of winterstorms, another 21 percent are at high risk of hurricanes, and 3 percent are at high risk of earthquakes.
