Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oregon Hotel Fined for Overcharging People During Wildfire
Mar 1 2021 // A hotel in Roseburg, Oregon, has been fined $31,000 for overcharging dozens of area residents who sought rooms after fleeing a large wildfire in September. The News-Review reports SUBH Investment LLC, which does business...
Fire Victim Trust Sues California Utility Executives for Causing Wildfires
Feb 24 2021 // The Fire Victim Trust has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against certain former officers and directors of PG&E Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for their role in causing the catastrophic 2017...
California Commissioner Wants Rate Transparency Rules for Wildfire Risk
Feb 23 2021 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has proposed new rules to give homeowners and businesses open access to their properties’ wildfire risk scores. The new rules would require insurance companies to...
P/C Insurers’ Net Income for 9 Months Fell 27% on Impact of Catastrophes
Feb 22 2021 // In the first nine months of 2020, net income for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry dropped 27.5% to $35.1 billion and net underwriting gains declined to $0.3 billion, from $5.4 billion a year earlier as the...
California Surplus Lines Weathered Pandemic, Wildfires, Civil Unrest
Feb 22 2021 // In a year marred by a pandemic, massive Western U.S. wildfires, civil unrest, and a contentious election, California’s surplus lines market “didn’t miss a beat.” That was the message from Ben McKay,...
Over $115M in Federal Flood Claims Paid in Louisiana After 2020 Hurricanes
Feb 22 2021 // As of Feb. 1, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) had paid out more than $115 million in flood claims in Louisiana in response to the 2020 hurricane season. That figure is up from the $110 million in NFIP payments...
Officials: ‘Freak Storm’ Caused Deadly North Carolina Tornado
Feb 19 2021 // North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday that the state must learn from the surprise tornado that struck Ocean Isle Beach with little or no warning, leaving three people dead and 10 injured. The governor surveyed the...
Oklahoma Legislation Would Require Tornado Safety Information in Hotels
Feb 18 2021 // Under legislation passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives, new or renovated hotels and motels would be required to tornado safety information in every room and common areas. Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader,...
Several Homes Damaged by Tornado in Georgia
Feb 18 2021 // The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that a tornado struck an area of southwest Georgia where one home was destroyed and several others got damaged. The weather service’s office in Tallahassee, Florida,...
EF3 Tornado Rips Across North Carolina Community, Levels Homes, Kills 3
Feb 18 2021 // It was late Monday night when the power went out at Jesse Clemmons’ home in coastal North Carolina. He went outside to start up the generator and heard a loud roar approaching from the woods. “By that time, I...
Earthquake Warning System Rolling Out in Oregon, Washington
Feb 18 2021 // The earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert will be capable of delivering alerts directly to wireless devices in Oregon on March 11 and to Washington state in May, completing the West Coast rollout, the U.S....
Storm System Spawns Tornado in Florida, Several Homes Damaged
Feb 16 2021 // A tornado in Florida’s Tampa Bay region peeled off rooftops, snapped trees and roused residents from bed early Sunday morning. The National Weather Service said there were no serious injuries reported from the...
Most Oregonians Applying for Disaster Aid After 2020 Wildfires Denied
Feb 16 2021 // More than 24,000 Oregonians applied for federal disaster assistance after the catastrophic 2020 wildfires and about 57% of them were denied. Jefferson Public Radio reports that nearly 14,000 Oregonians have been denied...
FEMA: Aid Deadline for Residential Losses from Hurricane Zeta — March 15
Feb 12 2021 // Residents in six Louisiana parishes have until mid-March to apply for Hurricane Zeta, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says. The deadline for parishes and other public entities to apply for Zeta aid has passed. The...
Zurich 2020 Profit Drop of 8% Reflects Pandemic, Catastrophe Claims
Feb 12 2021 // Zurich Insurance’s new capital target disappointed market expectations on Thursday, even as claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic and higher losses from natural catastrophes bit less than expected into full-year...
A Snowstorm that Cost Nearly $2.2B and Other January Natural Catastrophes: Aon
Feb 11 2021 // A snowstorm in Spain, called “Filomena,” caused business interruption and property losses estimated at nearly €1.8 billion ($2.2 billion), according to Aon’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report,...
California Surplus Lines Weathered Pandemic, Wildfires, Civil Unrest
Feb 9 2021 // In a year marred by a pandemic, massive Western U.S. wildfires, civil unrest, and a contentious election, California’s surplus lines market “didn’t miss a beat.” That was the message from Ben McKay,...
P/C Insurers’ Net Income for 9 Months Fell 27% on Effects of Catastrophes
Feb 9 2021 // In the first nine months of 2020, net income for the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry dropped 27.5% to $35.1 billion and net underwriting gains declined to $0.3 billion, from $5.4 billion a year earlier as the...
Damage From Wildfire Smoke Extends to Infrastructure, Businesses, Other Communities
Feb 8 2021 // The damage caused by wildfires can be devastating, gutting structures and driving out people who live and work nearby. And researchers say the smoke from the annually recurring blazes also delivers economic damage to areas...
Arizona Facing Above-Normal Wildfire Threats
Feb 8 2021 // Drought remains in place across Arizona with a likelihood of warm and dry conditions in coming months even after a recent storm dropped heavy snow across much of the state’s high country, a 2021 wildfire season...
