Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Typhoon-Hit Southeast Asia to See a Rainy End to 2024
Oct 15 2024 // Southeast Asia could see higher-than-normal rainfall in the coming months, threatening further disruptions to agriculture, tourism, and industrial output in a region already hit by a series of storms this year. Weather...
Catastrophe Bonds Dodge Worst-Case Scenario After Milton
Oct 10 2024 // After fearing the worst from Hurricane Milton, investors in catastrophe bonds appear to have sustained losses well below those predicted as recently as Wednesday. Estimates that had indicated the bonds would lose as much...
Hurricane Milton Could Use Up P/C Insurers’ 2024 Catastrophe Budgets
Oct 10 2024 // S&P Global Ratings said potential losses from Hurricane Milton could fully deplete the 2024 natural catastrophe budgets for rated U.S. property/casualty insurers, affecting underwriting margins and earnings. In a...
Flaws of the Saffir-Simpson Scale: Wind Isn’t the Only Threat in Modern Hurricanes
Oct 10 2024 // The insurance industry faces significant challenges in covering catastrophic risks, especially as climate change drives more extreme weather events. With soaring premiums and increasing exclusions, the need for an accurate...
North Dakota Officials Offer Guidance Following Wildfires
Oct 9 2024 // In the wake of wildfires over the weekend affecting parts of NorthDakota, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread and State Fire Marshal Doug Nelson are reminding residents of the necessary steps to protect themselves and...
Hurricane Milton Bears Down on Florida’s Tampa Area With House-Toppling Winds
Oct 9 2024 // Hurricane Milton churned toward Florida’s west coast with winds powerful enough to demolish houses, threatening to unleash once-in-a-century flooding across some of the state’s fastest-growing...
Hurricanes Milton and Helene Expose Limits of US Flood Maps
Oct 9 2024 // Even before the second megastorm in as many weeks brings devastating floodwaters to the Southeast US, it’s already clear that federal flood-risk maps underpinning decisions by millions of American homeowners and...
Catastrophe Bond Investors Brace for Major Losses as Milton Rages
Oct 9 2024 // Investors in catastrophe bonds are girding themselves for substantial losses as the combined destructive force of Hurricanes Helene and Milton looks set to trigger payment clauses on a scale not seen in years. Two weeks...
Hurricane Milton Insured Loss Could Be $60 Billion, Similar to 2022’s Ian: RBC
Oct 9 2024 // Hurricane Milton could result in a $60 billion loss for the global insurance industry, creating a surge in 2025 reinsurance prices which could boost some insurance companies’ shares, analysts at RBC Capital said. The...
Utilities’ Extreme Plan to Stop Wildfires: Shut Off the Power
Oct 8 2024 // A growing number of utilities are resorting to an extreme measure to prevent their equipment from sparking catastrophic wildfires: turning off the power. Electric companies serving about 24 million homes and businesses...
Hurricanes Like Helene Keep Killing for Years After They Strike
Oct 8 2024 // Hurricanes in the United States end up hundreds of times deadlier than the government calculates, contributing to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation’s wars, a new study said. The average storm...
Former Hurricane Kirk Set to Lash France With Heavy Rain
Oct 8 2024 // The remnants of Hurricane Kirk are forecast to hit France on Wednesday, after weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. The storm will bring wind gusts as strong as 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour to the Pyrenees, according...
Property/Casualty Insurance Stocks Slump on Hurricane Milton-Related Fears
Oct 8 2024 // U.S. property and casualty insurance stocks tanked on Monday after Hurricane Milton intensified into a category 4 storm on its path towards Florida’s western coast, marking yet another costly disaster for the...
Utilities’ Extreme Plan to Stop Wildfires: Shut Off the Power
Oct 8 2024 // A growing number of utilities are resorting to an extreme measure to prevent their equipment from sparking catastrophic wildfires: turning off the power. Electric companies serving about 24 million homes and businesses...
Hurricane Kirk’s Remnants Forecast to Hit Europe Later This Week
Oct 7 2024 // The remnants of Hurricane Kirk are forecast to hit northwest France on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds. Hurricane Kirk peaked at Category 4 storm over the Atlantic last week, but is weakening as it...
Hurricane Francine Insured Losses Expected to Be Manageable
Oct 7 2024 // Losses from Hurricane Francine are expected to be manageable for property/casualty insurers, with major population centers sparred from the worst of the storm’s damage. Privately insured loss from Hurricane Francine...
Rebuild or What? Florida Towns Hit Three Times by Hurricanes Face Tough Choice
Oct 4 2024 // HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was just a month ago that Brooke Hiers left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived since Hurricane Idalia slammed into her Gulf Coast fishing village of Horseshoe...
Taiwan Reopens, Clearing Up Damage After Typhoon Krathon
Oct 4 2024 // Southern Taiwan worked on Friday to clear up damage from flooding and high winds after Typhoon Krathon slammed into a major port city, while most of the rest of the island resumed work and financial markets...
FEMA Doesn’t Have Enough Funding to Last Through Hurricane Season, Mayorkas Warns
Oct 4 2024 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency can meet immediate needs but does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday. The agency...
Typhoon Krathon Hits Taiwan With Dangerous Winds, Heavy Rain
Oct 3 2024 // Typhoon Krathon crossed the southwest coast of Taiwan packing dangerous winds, with the storm leaving thousands of customers without power and shutting the stock exchange a second day. Krathon had maximum sustained winds...
