Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ISO, Intterra, Western Fire Chiefs Partner to Better Understand Wildfire Risk
Aug 8 2019 // ISO and Intterra are partnering with the Western Fire Chiefs Association to explore new ways of analyzing and understanding wildfire risk. Intterra has worked with the WFCA for several years to develop the Fire Data Lab, a...
Ridgecrest Earthquakes Shake Up Californians, but How Bad Could it Be?
Aug 8 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Earthquake risk in California is no secret. For years scientists have been warning the state is overdue for a large damaging event. Nearly 30 years ago, the 1989 Loma...
Typhoon Lekima to Weaken Before Hitting Shanghai this Weekend
Aug 8 2019 // A storm swirling over the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan is threatening to become a super typhoon before weakening and dousing Shanghai this weekend with as much as 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain. Typhoon Lekima could...
New Hurricane Response Tools from Munich Re Aim to Improve Claims Experience
Aug 7 2019 // Munich Re has launched a new suite of hurricane response tools designed to help insurance companies assess widespread property damage after a hurricane and improve their customers’ claims experience. Developed by...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: No Rate Hike for 2020
Aug 6 2019 // Texas’ provider of last resort for wind and hail insurance for Texas coastal properties won’t be raising its residential and commercial property rates next year. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA)...
U.S. Northwest Faces Growing Wildfire Threat
Aug 6 2019 // Nestled in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, the bustling Seattle suburb of Issaquah seems an unlikely candidate for anxiety over wildfires. The region, famous for its rainfall, has long escaped major...
Earthquake Repairs at Alaska Schools Could Top $150M
Aug 5 2019 // Repairs and upgrades at Anchorage, Alaska-area schools damaged last year’s big earthquake could cost more than $150 million, officials said. The Anchorage School District said the new estimate triples the original...
Artificial Intelligence Helps to Contain Wildfires, Predict Wild Weather
Aug 5 2019 // On a tower in the Brazilian rainforest, a sentinel scans the horizon for the first signs of fire. Only these eyes aren’t human. They don’t blink or take breaks, and guided by artificial intelligence they can...
Vast Sahara Dust Cloud Hinders Formation of Tropical Storms in Atlantic
Aug 3 2019 // Dry air from the Sahara that’s carrying enough dust it can be seen from space is preventing thunderstorms over the Atlantic from strengthening into powerful tropical systems. The system sits hundreds of miles...
Small Businesses Learn Hard Lessons When They Don’t Prepare for Disaster
Aug 2 2019 // When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, Carlos Melendez couldn’t contact the staffers or customers of his San Juan-based technology firm, Wovenware. Melendez learned a lesson that would help his...
California Governor Defends State’s Wildfire Efforts
Aug 2 2019 // Gov. Gavin Newsom defended California’s wildfire prevention efforts this week while criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to help protect the state as it enters the height of fire season after two...
Sun Valley Climate Conference’s Broad Agenda: Wildfires, Military, Insurance, Resilience
Aug 1 2019 // Washington had a record 1,850 responses to wildfires on Department of Natural Resources lands last year. Over the last five years, wildfires have continued to hit the state hard. One state official, who believes climate...
Court Upholds Facebook Immunity in Case Brought by Terrorist Attack Victims
Aug 1 2019 // Facebook Inc. on Wednesday defeated an appeal by American victims of Hamas attacks in Israel, who sought to hold the company liable for providing the group a social media platform to further its terroristic goals. The 2nd...
Florida Regulator Calls Open Hurricane Michael Claims ‘Discouraging’; Plans Data Call
Aug 1 2019 // With more than 20,000 claims related to Hurricane Michael still open nine months after the storm hit the Florida Panhandle, Florida’s top insurance regulator is calling on the insurance industry to take “all...
North Carolina Residents Hit by 2 Hurricanes Still Waiting on Long-Term Aid
Jul 31 2019 // The heating and air conditioning in Carrie Johnson’s home – damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 – still wasn’t fixed when Hurricane Florence flooded her house last September. Now, her home of over 50 years...
Rice U. Says Its Hurricane Plan for Houston Better Than $20B Coastal Barrier
Jul 30 2019 // For about a decade, two of Texas’ top universities have pushed dueling plans to protect the Houston-Galveston region from hurricanes. A concept championed by Texas A&M University at Galveston appears to be...
Challenges Facing the Florida Insurance Market: A Reinsurer’s Perspective
Jul 30 2019 // Hurricanes Irma and Michael served as a reminder that Florida, more than any other state, is at risk of one of the most intense natural perils, namely hurricanes. The existence of a stable insurance market providing its...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Rate Inadequacy Up Year Over Year
Jul 29 2019 // In advance of its Aug. 6 board meeting in Galveston, the insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Texas coast said it has determined its residential coverage rates are inadequate by 41.7 percent and...
Tornado, Flood Repairs to Missouri Facilities Could Cost Almost $13M
Jul 29 2019 // Repairs to Missouri government facilities damaged by recent tornadoes and flooding could cost almost $13 million, a majority of which would go toward fixing a historic prison that state officials are still trying to decide...
Oregon Lagging on Disaster Preparedness, Scientists Warn
Jul 29 2019 // Oregon state lawmakers abandoned a multimillion-dollar project to develop early warning systems for earthquakes and wildfires, and scientists warn that the funding shake-up could endanger public safety and put Oregon...
