Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Indonesia Volcano Alert Widened as Ash Clouds Affect Aviation After Deadly Tsunami
Dec 27 2018 // Indonesian authorities widened an area marked as a danger zone around the Mount Anak Krakatau as the volcano continued to send hot ash clouds into the sky after a weekend tsunami triggered by a landslide killed more than...
A.M. Best: Negative Rating Implications from Wildfires for California Capital And Subsidiaries
Dec 21 2018 // AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of California Capital Insurance Co. and its...
Power Restored to Last of 10K Paradise Residents Hit by California Wildfire
Dec 21 2018 // A Northern California utility says it has restored power interrupted by a wildfire six weeks ago to all customers able to receive it. Pacific Gas & Electric said this week the last of about 10,000 residents of Paradise...
Florida Man Gets 8 Years for Hurricane Irma Fraud
Dec 21 2018 // A Florida man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for taking advantage of people who suffered property damage last year during Hurricane Irma. Collier County prosecutors says 44-year-old Daniel Lawrence Ohleyer was...
Georgia Farmers Eligible for Loans to Cover Hurricane Losses
Dec 21 2018 // Some Georgia farmers are eligible for federal loans to help cover the costs of losses sustained because of Hurricane Michael. The Augusta Chronicle reported Tuesday that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue designated...
Rare Tornado Touches Down in Washington, Damages Homes
Dec 20 2018 // A rare tornado touched down in a Seattle suburb on Tuesday, the National Weather Service confirmed. The tornado damaged several homes and toppled trees, authorities said. Based on radar imagery and video evidence, a...
Assessing Wildfires’ Impact on P/C Insurers’ 2018 Results
Dec 20 2018 // Fitch Ratings said it expects the November wildfires in California to have some but not great impact on property/casualty insurers’ year-end results and it anticipates limited or no rating actions due to the fires....
Florida Panhandle City Borrows $50M for Hurricane Cleanup
Dec 20 2018 // Officials in Florida’s Panhandle have agreed to take out a $50 million loan to help pay for Hurricane Michael-related bills until federal reimbursements are received. The Panama City Commission approved the measure...
RenaissanceRe Introduces Vermeer, New Reinsurer for U.S. Catastrophe Market
Dec 19 2018 // RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM announced they have launched Vermeer Reinsurance Ltd. to provide capacity focused on risk remote layers in the U.S. property catastrophe market. PGGM is a...
Larger Houses Replace Smaller When Rebuilding After Hurricanes
Dec 19 2018 // A study of hurricane-hit areas of the United States has revealed a trend of larger homes being built to replace smaller ones in the years following a storm. The research, led by the University of Southampton (UK) and...
Second Earthquake in 4 Days Shakes Eastern Tennessee
Dec 18 2018 // An earthquake centered in eastern Tennessee also was felt in three other states. The U.S. Geological Survey website says the epicenter of the magnitude 3.0 earthquake early Sunday was about two miles (four kilometers)...
Los Alamos Lab Research Findings Could Lead to Earthquake Early Warning System
Dec 18 2018 // Machine-learning research published in two related papers today in Nature Geosciences reports the detection of seismic signals accurately predicting the Cascadia fault’s slow slippage, a type of failure observed to...
Global Insured Losses From Disasters at $79 Billion in 2018: Swiss Re Sigma Estimate
Dec 18 2018 // According to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re, total economic losses from natural and man-made catastrophes in 2018 declined to USD $155 billion from USD $350 billion in 2017. Global insured losses are estimated...
Allstate’s Shares Fall Under Weight of Wildfire Losses
Dec 17 2018 // Allstate Corp. tumbled for nine straight days, the longest string of losses since 2001, as coverage costs from the deadliest fires in California’s history are tallied. The company seemed to have “out-sized...
Hurricane Michael Recovery Goes On for Florida Agents
Dec 17 2018 // The page has finally turned on the tumultuous 2018 hurricane season, but for the agents who live and work in the Florida Panhandle, the story isn’t over – personally or professionally. “We all still feel...
Deadly California ‘Firenado’ Explained in New Study
Dec 17 2018 // A rare fire tornado that raged during this summer’s deadly Carr Fire in Northern California was created by a combination of scorching weather, erratic winds and an ice-topped cloud that towered miles into the...
Texas Hurricane Harvey Rebuilding Commission: Storm Was a ‘Wakeup Call’
Dec 14 2018 // A commission convened by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to focus on rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey issued a report on Dec. 13 saying the state should take a series of steps to prepare for the next big storm, including improving...
Authorities: At Least $3B to Clear Debris from Homes Destroyed By California Wildfires
Dec 14 2018 // State and federal authorities estimate that it will cost at least $3 billion to clear debris from 19,000 homes and businesses destroyed by three California wildfires last month. The disaster relief officials said the...
California Regulators to Look at New Blackout Rules to Prevent Deadly Wildfires
Dec 14 2018 // California regulators have decided they need to step in and help determine when power blackouts are appropriate to prevent wildfires after a series of deadly blazes linked to electrical equipment. Utilities PG&E Corp.,...
4.4 Earthquake Jolts Tennessee, Also Felt in Atlanta
Dec 14 2018 // An earthquake that struck eastern Tennessee early Wednesday could be felt as far away as Atlanta, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The light earthquake occurred about 4:15 a.m., and was centered about 7 miles (about 10...
