Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Update: Insurance Price Tag from Hurricane Zeta Estimated at $4.3B in U.S.
Nov 2 2020 // Insurers are bracing for a hit of about $4.3 billion from Hurricane Zeta in the United States, catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark & Co (KCC) said on Monday. At least six people were killed in the southeast of the...
Rescue Efforts Continue After Earthquake Strikes Turkey, Greece with at Least 57 Dead
Nov 2 2020 // IZMIR, Turkey – Rescue workers extricated a 70-year-old man from a collapsed building in western Turkey on Sunday, some 34 hours after a strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea struck Turkey and Greece, killing at least 57...
Tropical Storm Eta Ties 2005 Record for Most Named Atlantic Storms in One Year
Nov 2 2020 // Tropical Storm Eta formed overnight [on Sunday, Nov. 1] in the Caribbean, becoming the Atlantic’s 28th storm of 2020 and tying a 2005 record for the most named systems in a single year in records going back to...
World’s Strongest Storm in 2020 Kills at Least 16 in Philippines
Nov 2 2020 // The world’s strongest storm this year killed at least 16 people in the Philippines, and sent tens of thousands more to evacuation centers, risking coronavirus infection. Nearly 458,000 people were evacuated mostly in...
California Pledges to Protect Homeowners from Insurer Withdrawals Due to Wildfires
Nov 2 2020 // California’s insurance commissioner in late October pledged to step up efforts to protect the state’s residents from wildfires and address a pullback of private insurers from the state’s riskiest...
Zeta Leaves Southeast Louisiana Reeling Before Heading Northeast
Oct 30 2020 // A fast-moving Zeta weakened to a tropical storm as it barreled northeast on Oct. 29 after ripping through Louisiana and Mississippi where storm-weary residents were advised to stay indoors overnight while officials...
It Would Take P/C Insurers 150 Years to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses
Oct 30 2020 // The world’s property/casualty insurers would have to collect business interruption insurance premiums for 150 years in order to absorb the estimated US$4.5 trillion global output loss inflicted by COVID-19 and its...
Louisiana Issues Insurer Data Call for Hurricane Delta Damage Claims
Oct 30 2020 // Property/casualty insurance companies in Louisiana, including those that write private and/or excess flood coverage, as well as surplus lines insurers, have been directed to report claims data arising from Hurricane Delta...
Scientists Want New Framework for Understanding California Wildfire Costs, Risks
Oct 29 2020 // A new report out shows challenges current fire management policies in California, proposes a new framework for understanding the total cost of wildfire in the state and suggests that health impacts from smoke my represent...
Americas Insurance Waiving Separate Deductible in Louisiana After Delta, Laura
Oct 29 2020 // Americas Insurance Company will be waiving a separate deductible for Hurricane Delta for Louisiana insureds that were impacted by both Hurricanes Laura and Delta, provided they have satisfied their full named-storm...
Utility in California Slow to Pull Plug Before Wildfire Erupted
Oct 29 2020 // Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the Associated Press misspelled the last name of Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. Facing extreme wildfire conditions this week that included...
Fast-Moving Zeta Wallops Louisiana, Causes Blackouts Across South; Damages Could Hit $5B
Oct 29 2020 // Tropical Storm Zeta is spinning across the U.S. South after walloping New Orleans, blacking out 1.9 million homes and businesses and leaving a trail of wreckage from Louisiana to North Carolina. Zeta made landfall near...
New Storm Takes Aim at Philippines, Just Days After Devastation of Typhoon Molave
Oct 29 2020 // The Philippines is bracing for a new storm that will hit the Southeast Asian nation this weekend, days after Typhoon Molave left at least 16 people dead and thousands in evacuation sites. Goni, which developed into a...
Typhoon Molave Slams Vietnam, Killing at Least 16: News Report
Oct 29 2020 // Typhoon Molave hit Vietnam’s central coastline and northern Central Highlands with winds of up to 133 kilometers per hour on Wednesday, triggering landslides in Quang Nam province, VnExpress news website reported,...
Florida Property Insurance Market Inches Closer to Crisis – Part 1
Oct 29 2020 // After years of warnings that the Florida property insurance market was heading towards an availability crisis, many in the industry say the moment of reckoning has arrived. They blame unchecked claims litigation from...
Chubb Weathers $1 Billion in Catastrophes, Gains New Business in COVID Economy in 3Q
Oct 29 2020 // Chubb’s net income grew by 9 percent in the 2020 third quarter, which CEO Evan Greenberg credited to rate hikes and improving underwriting conditions despite a tough environment shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The...
Hurricane Zeta Slams Louisiana With High Winds, Storm Surge
Oct 28 2020 // Oct 28 06:10 PM. Hurricane Zeta smashed into Louisiana on Wednesday with 110-mile-per-hour (175 kph) winds and what government trackers called “a life-threatening storm surge,” the third hurricane to hit the...
Correction: Southern California Edison Says Equipment May Have Sparked Wildfire
Oct 28 2020 // Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the...
Typhoon Molave Heads to Vietnam After Killing at Least 9 People in Philippines
Oct 27 2020 // Typhoon Molave killed at least nine people and left 13 others missing in the Philippines, according to disaster-response officials, before heading over to the South China Sea on its way to Vietnam. The storm affected more...
UPDATE: Tropical Storm Zeta Makes Landfall in Mexico, Threatens U.S. Gulf Coast
Oct 27 2020 // Zeta will move into the Gulf of Mexico in the next few hours after making landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula, then regain strength as it heads north toward Louisiana and likely comes ashore Wednesday. Now a tropical storm...
