Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AXIS Capital Estimates Q3 Catastrophe Losses of Up to $175 Million
Oct 14 2019 // AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. announced a preliminary pre-tax loss estimate for Hurricane Dorian, Japanese typhoons and other weather-related events in the range of $150 million to $175 million, net of estimated recoveries...
Update: Typhoon Hagibis Rips Across Japan, Causing Flooding, Killing at Least 43
Oct 12 2019 // Japan is sending more than 110,000 people including its Self-Defense Forces to tackle rescue and cleanup operations in the wake of the most powerful typhoon to hit the country in decades, which left at least 43 people...
Florida Panhandle Facing Uphill Battle in Recovery One Year after Michael
Oct 11 2019 // A year after Hurricane Michael, the Florida county hardest hit by the Category 5 storm is still in crisis: Thousands in Bay County are homeless, medical care and housing are at a premium, domestic violence has become a...
Wildfire Destroyed Dozens of Homes in Southern California
Oct 11 2019 // Burning trash dumped by a garbage truck caused a fire that by early Friday had destroyed dozens of homes in California’s Riverside County, fire officials said, as wildfires across the state led to power cuts for...
Hurricane Michael: One Year Later, Federal Aid for Recovery Totals Nearly $2B
Oct 10 2019 // Since Hurricane Michael made landfall Oct. 10, 2018, federal assistance for recovery in the 18 affected counties is nearly $1.9 billion, including FEMA grants, National Flood Insurance Program payments and U.S. Small...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Seeks Input for Actuarial & Underwriting Committee
Oct 10 2019 // Texas insurer of last resort for properties along the state’s coast is seeking input from the public in advance of a meeting of its Actuarial & Underwriting Committee. The Texas Windstorm Insurance...
Update: Super Typhoon Hagibis Tracks Toward Japan; Guy Carpenter, RMS Comment
Oct 10 2019 // Super Typhoon Hagabis has been a category 5 for much of the first half of this week, but fortunately is forecast to weaken to a category 3 typhoon when it makes landfall in Japan on Saturday morning, Oct. 12, said Guy...
Millions in Northern, Central California Lose Electricity to Mitigate Wildfire Risks
Oct 10 2019 // California utility giant PG&E Corp. expanded the biggest blackout that has ever been orchestrated to prevent wildfires with a second round of shutoffs in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The company told reporters late...
Eastern Australia Wildfires Destroy Up to 30 Homes
Oct 10 2019 // About 500 firefighters were battling out-of-control wildfires in eastern Australia that have destroyed up to 30 homes. More than 40 bushfires were burning across New South Wales state. Temperatures were cooler Wednesday...
Super Typhoon Hagibis on Track to Hit Japan, Disrupting Rugby World Cup
Oct 10 2019 // Two Rugby World Cup games pitting England against France and New Zealand against Italy have been called off as the powerful Typhoon Hagibis approaches Japan this weekend, organizers confirmed. The decision means both...
PG&E Could Cut Power to Hundreds of Thousands of Californians over Wildfire Fears
Oct 8 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric officials on Tuesday announced plans to cut off power to some 600,000 Northern California customers as a wildfire safety precaution. The outages are expected to begin early Wednesday depending on...
California Wildfire Victims in PG&E Bankruptcy See $13.5B in Claims
Oct 8 2019 // A lawyer for the committee representing wildfire victims in the bankruptcy of PG&E Corp said at a hearing on Monday that the committee sees $13.5 billion as the cost to the power provider for paying claims of the...
Arch Capital Group Expects 3rd Quarter Catastrophe Losses of Up to $75M
Oct 8 2019 // Arch Capital Group Ltd. announced it expects to report third quarter 2019 pre-tax catastrophe losses of approximately $65 million to $75 million, net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums. These losses are...
Comments Sought on Proposed Claim Rules for Texas Windstorm Insurer
Oct 7 2019 // Texas insurance regulators are seeking input on proposed changes to claims-related rules for the state’s property insurer of last resort along the Texas coast. The Texas Department of Insurance has proposed changes...
Supreme Court Rejects Sempra’s Bid to Recover $379M from 2007 California Wildfire Payouts
Oct 7 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co to recover $379 million from customers related to damages it was forced to pay out in litigation after the...
Hurricane Dorian Caused More Than C$105M in Insured Damage to Atlantic Canada
Oct 7 2019 // Hurricane Dorian hit Atlantic Canada on Sept. 7 causing more than C$105 million (US$78.9 million) in insured damage, said Insurance Bureau of Canada, quoting the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).* The...
Lawsuit Says Colorado Railroad Ignited Fires Prior to Wildfire
Oct 7 2019 // A federal lawsuit says nearly 50 fires in Colorado were ignited by a railroad company in the weeks leading up to a major wildfire. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad caused the smaller fires along its tracks...
Catastrophe Modelers: U.S. Insured Losses from Dorian Could Reach $1.5B in U.S.
Oct 7 2019 // Insured loss estimates for Hurricane Dorian will range from $500 million to $1.5 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firms Karen Clark & Co. and RMS. According to KCC, Dorian reached peak intensity of 185 mph...
Earthquake Warning App Coming to Washington Next Year
Oct 4 2019 // Washington state officials have announced an earthquake warning phone application is expected to be available for download October 2020. KING-TV reports that the app ShakeAlert was designed to send people an alert on how...
22 New California Laws Take Aim at Wildfire Danger
Oct 4 2019 // California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of the state in recent years and killed scores of people. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom...
