natural catastrophes News

Europe Faces 3C of Global Warming. Here’s How It Plans to Cope.

Europe will be 3C hotter even if the world succeeds in limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, bringing with it the heightened peril of extreme weather and trillions of euros of damages to the economy. Such climactic hazards …

Infernos Rage From Texas to Australia as Wildfire Season Kicks Off Early

After a year of deadly wildfires around the globe, the world is burning again from Texas to Australia — and in some regions, the blazes are igniting early. Canada’s Alberta province said last month that wildfire season had already begun, …

US, Philippines Pay Highest Economic Price for Climate-Fueled Weather

The United States and the Philippines are the countries hit hardest by climate-driven extreme weather, measured as a percentage of their economies, according to a report released Wednesday by global reinsurance giant Swiss Re. The US currently experiences the worst …

Australian Iron Ore Port Starts Clearing Ships Ahead of Cyclone

A major port on Australia’s west coast used by Rio Tinto Group to export iron ore has started clearing ships from the harbor ahead of a cyclone that’s expected to form early Friday. All port anchorages are expected to be …

What’s to Come in 2024: AI Expansion, More Catastrophes, Network Consolidation

No one can predict the future, but insurance professionals are likely the best qualified when it comes to predicting risk. For this special report, Insurance Journal magazine asked industry thought leaders their predictions for the property/casualty world in 2024 and …

Category 6? As Warming Stokes Storms, Some Want a Bigger Hurricane Category

A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6. Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms …

Norway’s Most Powerful Storm in Over 30 Years Rips Roofs Off Houses, Cuts Power

Norway’s most powerful storm in more than three decades ripped off roofs, heightened avalanche risks, canceled flights and cut power as it raged in parts of the Scandinavian country Thursday. Hurricane-force winds brought gusts of up to 180 kilometers (112 …

Colombia Declares National Disaster as Wildfires Spread Through Parched Forests

Colombia declared a national disaster as wildfires spread through drought-hit forests and filled the capital, Bogota, with smoke. Environmental authorities reported 31 separate blazes on Thursday, after months of hot, dry weather caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Some …

Australia Braces for More Wild Weather in Wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has uprooted trees and felled powerlines in Australia’s Queensland state, leaving tens of thousands without electricity or phone service as the state braces for further wild weather into the weekend. The storm has weakened to a tropical …

Reinsurance Market Likely to Begin Softening in 2025 as Capacity Rises in 2024: Fitch

Reinsurers’ underwriting margins are expected to peak in 2024 on the significant price rises and tighter terms and conditions achieved during 2023 and in the January 2024 renewals, which will likely lead to softer market conditions in 2025, according to …