Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict 2017 will be a worse than average hurricane season, with between 11 and 17 named storms, including between two and four major hurricanes. 
 
 The frequency and intensity of hurricanes during the season — which stretches for nearly half the year, from the beginning of June through the end of November — can be difficult to predict. It only takes one storm hitting in the right place to damage hundreds of thousands of homes and cause tens of billions of dollars in damage. 
 
 While a single storm will never hit every vulnerable city along the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines, nearly 6.9 million homes, with a total reconstruction cost value of over $1.5 trillion, are at risk of damage from flooding caused by hurricanes. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the number of homes at risk and the estimated construction costs for U.S. metro areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from data analytics company CoreLogic. The 15 cities vulnerable to the greatest damage are listed in order of the number of homes at risk of destruction from flooding due to rainfall and storm surge. 
 
 Click here to see the cities where hurricanes would cause the most damage. 
 
 Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology. 

 Source: Thinkstock 
 
 15. Lafayette, LA 
 
 > Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 122,196 
 
 > Cost of reconstruction: $25.1 billion 
 
 > Population: 491,528 
 
 > Recent serious hurricane: Andrew (1992) 
 
 Widespread flooding in Louisiana last August caused flooding throughout much of the state, including in Lafayette. While the flood was not caused by a hurricane, the city is also very much at risk of storm surge from such an event. Lafayette managed to escape the worst of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in New Orleans about 120 miles east of the city, but was more directly in the path of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew. Andrew made landfall in the central part of the state after devastating large parts of Florida and moving into the Gulf of Mexico. CoreLogic estimates that the Lafayette metropolitan area has more than 122,000 homes at risk of storm surge flooding should a major hurricane strike the area today, with total property damage from such an event surpassing $25 billion. 
 
 Source: Thinkstock 
 
 14. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 
 
 > Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 125,689 
 
 > Cost of reconstruction: $35.9 billion 
 
 > Population: 4,794,447 
 
 > Recent serious hurricane: Bob (1991) 
 
 Though many Americans may not think immediately of New England as a high risk area for a hurricane, the Boston metro area is no stranger to serious storms, and has more homes at risk than all but 13 cities nationwide. Though somewhat sheltered by Massachusetts Bay, Boston’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, in conjunction with its high population density, put it at especially high risk of hurricane damage. Of the more than 1.9 million housing units across the metro area, nearly 126,000 are at risk of significant damage from a storm surge. 
 
 The damage would also be especially costly. The typical home in the area is worth $393,000, more than double the national median home value of $194,500. The total cost of repair for homeowners from a major hurricane in Boston could be as high as $35.9 billion. Boston was spared the worst effects of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, a storm that devastated much of the Northeast. 
 
 Source: Thinkstock 
 
 13. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 
 
 > Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 126,170 
 
 > Cost of reconstruction: $22.0 billion 
 
 > Population: 449,295 
 
 > Recent serious hurricane: Hugo (1989) 
 
 Myrtle Beach, one of South Carolina’s more populous metropolitan areas, is located on the coast. Over 125,000 metro area homes are at risk of serious damage from storm surge, should a hurricane hit the area. Myrtle Beach residents are certainly no strangers to such events. In 1989, Hugo, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall about 100 miles south, near Charleston, taking a serious toll on both cities with storm surge of approximately 20 feet recorded north of Charleston. 
 
 The good news for Myrtle Beach is that the area’s housing infrastructure is relatively modern and may better withstand serious storm surge. Less than 40% of area housing units were built prior to 1990, the fourth lowest share among all U.S. metro areas. 
 
 Source: Thinkstock 
 
 12. Charleston-North Charleston, SC 
 
 > Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 149,308 
 
 > Cost of reconstruction: $37.0 billion 
 
 > Population: 761,155 
 
 > Recent serious hurricane: Hugo (1989) 
 
 Like Myrtle Beach, Charleston, South Carolina’s largest coastal city is at risk of billions of dollars from storm surge damage should a major hurricane strike. When Hugo struck the region in 1989, it made landfall just north of Charleston and storm surge levels as high as 20 feet were recorded near the city, among the highest on record. NOAA estimates that the storm in total caused $17.6 billion in damage, including in parts of Charleston. However, with more than 25 years of real estate development in the metro area since, the amount and value of property at risk is much greater today. CoreLogic estimates the total flooding damage to single-family homes in the area today could reach $37 billion. 
 
 Source: Thinkstock 
 
 11. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 
 
 > Total properties at risk of hurricane damage: 164,725 
 
 > Cost of reconstruction: $41.1 billion 
 
 > Population: 6,070,500 
 
 > Recent serious hurricane: Sandy (2012) 
 
 Damage to homes in the Philadelphia metro area resulting from a 2017 hurricane storm swell could total $41.1 billion. Like many other cities on this list, Philadelphia is a densely populated area where homes tend to be more expensive compared to much of the rest of the country. The metro area is one of only 11 on this list where over 150,000 single-family homes could be destroyed by a hurricane’s storm surge. 
 
 Though cities and towns throughout parts of nearby New Jersey were hit much harder by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, over half a million people lost power in Philadelphia and surrounding counties, and major roadways around the city were shut down by the storm.
– Florida may be the place to go for sunshine, but it's the place to escape if a hurricane hits. The state is home to a number of the US cities that are "vulnerable to the greatest damage" at the hands of a hurricane, reports 24/7 Wall St, which took into account data on past hurricanes, the number of homes at risk of damage, as well as estimated rebuilding costs when studying cities along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The 10 metro areas with the potential to be hardest hit: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-Pa. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. New Orleans-Metairie, La. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-NC Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. Jacksonville, Fla. Click for the full list or see why this hurricane season could be especially dangerous.