Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Fires Pose Grave Risk to Marijuana Growers
Oct 12 2017 // For many businesses in northern California, it will take years to rebuild from the wildfires that have decimated the region. For many legal cannabis growers, the destruction could be insurmountable. At least six marijuana...
$36.5 Billion House Disaster Aid Bill Includes Funds for Puerto Rico, Wildfires, Flood Insurance
Oct 12 2017 // House lawmakers unveiled a bill Tuesday night that would provide $36.5 billion in emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief requested by the Trump administration. With Congress under pressure to provide urgent...
Prevalent, Discredited Building Technique Raised Mexico’s Quake Deaths: Engineers
Oct 12 2017 // Warm lighting would enhance the wood floors’ natural glow, the developer promised, so when all the custom lightbulbs burnt out, Anahi Abadia and her husband grudgingly drove to Home Depot to replenish supplies for...
XL Group Estimates $1.48B in Q3 Natural Catastrophe Losses
Oct 12 2017 // XL Group Ltd. announced its preliminary estimate of net losses of approximately $1.48 billion from third quarter natural catastrophes. Included within that figure is $1.33 billion in losses relating to Hurricanes Harvey,...
How Aerial Imaging Is Speeding Hurricane Claims Settlements
Oct 12 2017 // In the wake of three devastating hurricanes this season, many carriers and vendors used drones and airplanes to assess structural storm damage. This use of aerial imaging combined with machine learning has fostered...
Cal Fire: California Wildfires Have Destroyed 3,500 Structures, Killed 17
Oct 11 2017 // Cal Fire is reporting that 17 people are confirmed to have died in the wildfires throughout the state this week and that at least 3,500 homes and commercial structures have been destroyed by the fast-moving...
California’s $58B Wine Industry Hit by Wildfires
Oct 11 2017 // The fires ravaging Northern California stand to leave the area’s renowned wine industry with damage that will be felt long after the final flames burn out. At least four Napa Valley vineyards have been destroyed or...
California Wildfires Are a ‘Larger Scale Disaster’
Oct 10 2017 // Active wildfires in California have burned an estimated 1,500 homes and commercial structures, scorched more than 115,000 acres and reportedly killed 15 people. Insurers and others who access damage are only beginning to...
Deadline Extended for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Post-Harvey Claim Disputes
Oct 10 2017 // As of Oct. 4, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) had received 68,861 claims related to Hurricane Harvey. TWIA is the insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast. Affected policyholders,...
Rare October Tornado Destroys Structures on East Side of Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 10 2017 // An unusual October tornado has downed power lines and destroyed garages on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin, but no injuries were reported. The National Weather Service confirmed a weak tornado swept northeast along...
KCC Estimates U.S. Insured Losses from Hurricane Nate Could Reach $500M
Oct 10 2017 // Based on high resolution wind and storm surge models, Karen Clark & Company (KCC) has estimated that the insured loss in the U.S. from Hurricane Nate will be close to $500 million. KCC’s modeled loss estimates...
Wildfires Ravage California’s Iconic Wine Country Region
Oct 10 2017 // Wildfires that tore through northern California’s iconic wine-growing regions have prompted evacuations of more than 20,000 people, killed 11 and damaged some of the most valuable vineyards and wineries in the...
Insurers, Reinsurers Tally Maria, Irma, Harvey and Other Disaster Losses
Oct 10 2017 // Losses from Hurricane Maria and other recent natural disasters, including hurricanes Irma and Harvey, the Mexico City earthquake and other events, have led global insurers and reinsurers to issue profi warnings.t Below are...
Northern California Wildfires Burn Wine Country Homes, Force Evacuations
Oct 9 2017 // Firefighters battled roughly 10 wind-whipped fires across Northern California’s wine country early Monday, triggering a rush by residents to flee the area. Mandatory evacuations were ordered after blazes broke out...
White House $29B Disaster Aid Includes Flood Insurance Changes
Oct 9 2017 // The Trump administration last week asked Congress for $29 billion in disaster aid to cover ongoing hurricane relief and recovery efforts and to pay federal flood insurance claims. The request comes as the government is...
After Hurricane, Bond Insurer Drops Lawsuit Against Puerto Rico
Oct 8 2017 // Puerto Rico bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd. said late on Friday it voluntarily withdrew a complaint that challenged the legality of the island’s fiscal turnaround plan, citing the devastating impact of Hurricane...
Estimated $2.5 Billion Gulf Coast Damage from Nate Less Than First Feared
Oct 7 2017 // Oil companies were heading back into the Gulf of Mexico and working to restore operations after Hurricane Nate fizzled out over the U.S. South on Sunday. While an estimated 93 percent of U.S. oil production in the Gulf was...
Sunday Update: Weakened Tropical Storm Nate Brings Rain, Tornado Warnings to South
Oct 7 2017 // Hurricane Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday after coming ashore in Mississippi, flooding roads and buildings but sparing the state from catastrophic damages. Maximum sustained winds from Nate, the fourth...
Q3 2017 Likely to Be One of Costliest for Natural Disasters: Aon Report
Oct 6 2017 // The third quarter of 2017 is likely to break a new record as one of the costliest quarters for natural catastrophes, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. “The...
Gulf Coast on Hurricane Watch As Tropical Storm Nate Strengthens
Oct 6 2017 // Tropical Storm Nate, which has already shut oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, strengthened as it continued north on a path that’ll bring it ashore in the U.S. by week’s end. Nate was about 115 miles...
