Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
USGS Reports 3.7 Mag Earthquake Struck Northeast Arkansas
Sep 1 2020 // An earthquake rated with a preliminary magnitude of 3.7 struck near Marked Tree in northeastern Arkansas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake struck just after 9:30 p.m. Saturday near Marked Tree, about 120...
Firefighter Killed at Scene of California Wildfire
Sep 1 2020 // A firefighter was killed and another injured Monday battling a wildfire in the Northern California forest, authorities said. The firefighter was killed in Mendocino National Forest north of San Francisco, where a wildfire...
Why Some Organizations Are Managing Coronavirus Risk Better Than Others
Sep 1 2020 // While few, if any, organizations saw the coronavirus pandemic and all of its death and disruption coming, some were better positioned to deal with it than others. According to risk expert Jim Wetekamp, some organizations...
Florida Borrows $2.25B for Hurricane Fund While Rates Are Low
Sep 1 2020 // With hurricane season barreling down on Florida, the state is seizing on low interest rates to borrow $2.25 billion for its catastrophe insurance fund. The State Board of Administration Finance Corp. is joining state and...
Cat Risk Modelers Air Worldwide, KCC Release Laura Insured Loss Estimates
Aug 31 2020 // Estimates for insured property losses associated with Hurricane Laura by catastrophe risk modeling firms Air Worldwide and Karen Clark and Co. (KCC) are similar — both fall into the $8 billion range — but they are not...
What Tampa Bay’s Worst-Case Scenario, ‘Hurricane Phoenix’ Could Look Like
Aug 31 2020 // It is only a simulation. It’s also the worst-case scenario. One day, it could be reality. “Hurricane Phoenix” is the hypothetical disaster that would change life in the Tampa Bay area forever. Imagine a...
Drones Help Insurance Companies Check Windstorm Damage in Iowa
Aug 31 2020 // Insurance adjusters who descended on Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after the Aug. 10 derecho storm are using drones to check roofs and asking homeowners with less severe damage to take their own photos. Some of this is due to the...
Fire at Hurricane-Hit Louisiana Chemical Plant Contained
Aug 30 2020 // A chlorine chemical fire that erupted last Thursday, triggering shelter-in-place orders and closing roadways in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, has been brought under control, the plant’s owner said on Friday. KIK...
CoreLogic Estimates Hurricane Laura Insured Losses at $8B to $12B
Aug 28 2020 // Property information, analytics and data provider, CoreLogic, has estimated residential and commercial insured losses from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana and Texas will come in at between $8 billion and $12 billion. That...
Update: Hurricane Laura Kills 6 in Louisiana, but Damage Is Less than Expected
Aug 28 2020 // Hurricane Laura tore through Louisiana on Thursday, killing six people and flattening buildings across a wide swatch of the state before moving into Arkansas with heavy rains. Laura’s powerful gusts uprooted trees...
Fire Burns at Hurricane-Hit Louisiana Chemical Plant
Aug 28 2020 // Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Thursday asked residents in three southwestern communities to stay indoors with windows and doors shut as a plume rose from a chemical fire at a Biolab plant in an area hit by...
Why Damage from Hurricanes Keeps Rising
Aug 28 2020 // A destructive storm rising from warm waters. Again. America and the world are getting more frequent and bigger multibillion dollar tropical catastrophes like Hurricane Laura, which menaced the U.S. Gulf Coast, because of a...
Damage from Whopper Hurricanes Increasing for Many Reasons
Aug 27 2020 // America and the world are getting more frequent and bigger multibillion dollar tropical catastrophes like Hurricane Laura because of a combination of increased coastal development, natural climate cycles, reductions in air...
4 Killed as Hurricane Laura Slams Louisiana, but Less Damage Than Forecast
Aug 27 2020 // Hurricane Laura ripped through Louisiana on Thursday, destroying buildings in towns across the southwestern corner of the state and killing four people who were crushed by falling trees as they sheltered in their homes,...
Actuaries Index: Extreme Climate Conditions Hit New High in Winter 2019-20
Aug 27 2020 // A multiyear trend of increasing climate condition measurements from the U.S. and Canada hit a new high in winter 2019-2020, according a new Actuaries Climate Index released this week. The quarterly data’s key metric...
Analysts Warn of Effects of Hurricane Laura Losses on P/C Insurers
Aug 27 2020 // Ratings analysts A.M. Best and Moody’s are expecting property/casualty insurers and reinsurers to suffer meaningful losses from Hurricane Laura. A.M. Best expects losses from Hurricane Laura to place added stress on...
As FAIA Chief Grady Says Goodbye, He Shares His Top 10 Moments
Aug 27 2020 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv For 22 years, the Florida Association of Insurance Agents has been led by Jeff Grady, president and chief executive officer, who admits that when he started all those years ago he did not...
Hurricane Laura Slows After Landfall; Inland Storm Surge Expected
Aug 26 2020 // HOUSTON, Texas, Aug 27 08:12 AM – Hurricane Laura made landfall early on Thursday in southwestern Louisiana as one of the most powerful storms to hit the state, with forecasters warning it could push a massive wall...
California Commissioner Issues Emergency Notice to Expedite Wildfire Claims
Aug 26 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued an emergency notice to all property/casualty insurance companies doing business in California, requesting they expedite claims handling for California...
Hurricane Laura Expected to Be Category 4 When It Hits Texas, Louisiana
Aug 26 2020 // Hurricane Laura was expected to rapidly strengthen to a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday on a steady track to hit the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast after dark, causing catastrophic damage, the National Hurricane Center...
