Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Harvey Smashes Homes, Businesses; Heavy Rain Continues
Aug 27 2017 // Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of...
Insurance Adjusters Mobilized to Deal with Harvey Cat Losses
Aug 27 2017 // Teams of insurance adjusters were mobilized Friday in Texas cities closest to Hurricane Harvey’s expected path of destruction. Hurricane Harvey made landfall late Friday evening as a category 4 hurricane. According...
How Hurricane Harvey Is Affecting Catastrophe Bonds
Aug 27 2017 // Bonds tied to weather risks tumbled the most in seven months as Hurricane Harvey advanced on Texas’s Gulf Coast. The Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index dropped 0.44 percent this week, the steepest decline since...
Saturday Update: Hurricane Harvey Expected to Weaken to Tropical Storm
Aug 26 2017 // Early this morning, Hurricane Harvey weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it moved farther inland over southeastern Texas. It continues to bring “life-threatening storm surge, rainfall, and wind hazards to portions...
A.M. Best Weighs Hurricane Harvey’s Financial Hit; Ranks Top 30 Texas Insurers
Aug 25 2017 // With Hurricane Harvey threatening the Texas coastline, A.M. Best said it has begun to assess the potential financial impact this event may have on the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry. The most recent track of Harvey...
RMS Comments on Tracking of Hurricane Harvey
Aug 25 2017 // Ben Brookes, RMS Vice President Capital Markets Solutions, posted the following blog update at 15:00 UTC , Friday August 25 Until yesterday evening Harvey looked like a rain-flooding threat, largely – likely to land-fall...
As Harvey Nears, Central Texas Coast Shuts Down
Aug 25 2017 // The National Hurricane Center has called off the hurricane watch from Port Mansfield, Texas, south to the mouth of the Rio Grande, but the Hurricane Harvey scenario for Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas on the...
Official Blames Humans for Utah’s Wildfire Cost Doubling
Aug 25 2017 // Utah State Forester Brian Cottam said “stupid human tricks” have led to the states’ wildfire bill being double what it usually is. Cottam says the cost to Utah for this year’s wildfires is projected...
Hurricane Harvey Looks to Be First Big Test for Trump FEMA Director Long
Aug 25 2017 // Brock Long knew it was just a matter of time. “We’ve gone 11 years without a major hurricane land-falling in the U.S.—that’s a one-in-2,000 chance,” said Long, President Donald Trump’s...
Insured Losses for August 2016’s Italy Quake Revised Upward to $127.4M: PERILS
Aug 25 2017 // The final property insurance market loss estimate for the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that hit Central Italy on Aug. 24, 2016 has increased to €108 million (US$127.4 million), according to PERILS, the independent...
Harvey Now a Hurricane, Sustained Winds Near 85 MPH
Aug 24 2017 // The National Hurricane Center says Harvey is now a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 85 mph and higher gusts. At 1 pm CDT, the hurricane was located around 335 miles southeast of Corpus Christi,...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Says It’s Ready for Harvey
Aug 24 2017 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association said it has initiated its catastrophe plan and that it is ready for Tropical Storm Harvey. Tropical Storm Harvey has crossed the boundaries of 80 degrees west longitude and 20...
25 Years Later: How Florida’s Insurance Industry Has Changed Since Hurricane Andrew
Aug 24 2017 // Aug. 24, 1992 was anything but a typical Monday for Robert Reynolds as he drove through debris-filled roads and devastation on the way to his family-run agency then located just north of Homestead, Fla. Hurricane Andrew...
Harvey Set to Bring ‘Catastrophic’ Flooding Across Texas
Aug 23 2017 // Harvey, which could strengthen into the first hurricane to strike Texas since 2008, forced workers off Gulf of Mexico platforms, sent cotton rallying and has airlines preparing for flight disruptions. Tropical Storm...
Researchers Using Airplanes to Map Earthquake Faults in Oklahoma
Aug 23 2017 // Researchers are turning to the sky to help stop earthquakes from rumbling deep beneath the Oklahoma soil. The U.S. Geological Survey in coordination with the Oklahoma Geological Survey and other groups last week began...
Hurricane, Storm Surge Watches Issued for Texas Coast as Harvey Nears
Aug 23 2017 // The National Hurricane Center has issued a storm surge watch for Texas coast from Port Mansfield to High Island and a hurricane watch from north of Port Mansfield to San Luis Pass. The government of Mexican government also...
Severe Typhoon Hato Lashes Hong Kong; Flash Flood Warning Issued
Aug 23 2017 // Severe Typhoon Hato made landfall in China after it lashed Hong Kong with heavy winds and rain, forcing the city to issue the highest storm warning and its stock exchange to cancel trading for the day. The Hong Kong...
Wildfire in Yosemite National Park Grows, Evacuations Remain in California Town
Aug 22 2017 // Weather conditions have halped crews batttle a blaze in Yosemite National Park that has forced the evacuation of the tiny California community of Wawona. The blaze is now 3,820 acres and is now 17 percent contained. Singh...
Typhoon Hato Intensifies as It Heads to Hong Kong
Aug 22 2017 // Hong Kong was preparing to shutter businesses as Typhoon Hato drew closer to the city, with Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. scrapping flights and the local observatory warning it may raise the third-highest storm signal at...
As Congress Eyes Flood Insurance Renewal, Private Markets Get Ready
Aug 21 2017 // Unleashing the invisible hand that has been missing from the flood insurance market for nearly 50 years is no easy task. But private flood insurance experts say the change would be a good thing not only for private flood...
