Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
British Columbia Wildfires Continue to Rage, Torching 1,235-Plus Square Miles
Jul 21 2017 // British Columbia is extending a state of emergency for two more weeks as wildfires sweeping across the province’s interior show no sign of slowing. Premier John Horgan said Wednesday that his government’s first...
Verisk: Texas 2nd in Number of Households at Risk for Wildfire
Jul 20 2017 // The 2017 Verisk Wildfire Risk Analysis shows that Texas is ranked second behind California for the number of households at high or extreme risk from wildfire. The analysis determined the number and percentage of households...
Yosemite Park Wildfire Burns Dozens of Structures And Heads Toward California Towns
Jul 20 2017 // A wildfire in foothills west of Yosemite National Park destroyed dozens of structures and forced thousands to flee towns but fire crews have been able to stop it from reaching a threatened community on the foothills of the...
Travelers Says It’s ‘Where It Needs to Be’ to Compete; Q2 Results Dampened by Weather
Jul 20 2017 // Small business insurance leader Travelers Companies is well-positioned to continue to compete in the small commercial insurance space that is attracting new entries including technology-driven start-ups, according to CEO...
Catastrophes Cost Insurers $22B in 1H 2017; Economic Losses Totaled $53B: Aon
Jul 20 2017 // Global insured losses from natural disasters during the first half of 2017 are estimated at US$22 billion with 76 percent of these losses generated by U.S. events, according to a report issued by Impact Forecasting, Aon...
North Carolina Gov Signs $100M Hurricane Aid, Zip Line Insurance Bills
Jul 20 2017 // Gov. Roy Cooper has signed legislation directing how $100 million in additional Hurricane Matthew relief funds must be spent and requiring zip line and aerial ropes course owners to get minimum levels of liability...
California Wildfire Threatens 1,500 Homes
Jul 19 2017 // A California blaze in the rugged mountains outside of Yosemite National Park has destroyed eight structures and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes. As of Tuesday evening, the fire had scorched 39...
British Columbia Wildfires Expected to Worsen; Nearly 40,000 People Evacuated
Jul 19 2017 // Fast-moving wildfires in British Columbia have forced nearly 40,000 people to leave their homes and residents are flooding into crowded evacuation centers amid a provincial state of emergency. Federal Public Safety...
California’s Drought Is Over, but a New Report Shows Wildfire Risk is High for Millions
Jul 18 2017 // California’s drought-ridden feet aren’t out of the proverbial fire yet. This years’ powerful winter storms ended perpetual discourse about the state’s multiyear drought, but there are still 4.5...
2 New California Wildfires Prompt Evacuation Orders
Jul 18 2017 // A wildfire burning in central California tripled in size Monday, forcing more people from their homes as firefighters battle the day-old blaze. The fire is burning near Lake McClure, a reservoir about 50 miles east of...
British Columbia’s Wildfires Threaten Lumber Supplies, Force Mine Closures
Jul 18 2017 // Wildfires sweeping across British Columbia, the world’s biggest exporter of softwood lumber, sent timber prices surging and forced the closure of two copper mines in the western Canadian province. More than 375 fires...
Earthquakes Rumble Central Oklahoma
Jul 17 2017 // The U.S. Geological Survey says several earthquakes struck central Oklahoma in the morning on July 14, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2. State and local emergency management officials said there have been...
Costs for Fighting Utah Wildfire Reached Nearly $34M
Jul 17 2017 // The cost of fighting a southern Utah wildfire that forced hundreds of people to evacuate has reached nearly $34 million. Fire spokeswoman Julie Thomas said the tab for fighting the blaze near the Utah ski town of Brian...
Small Tornado Confirmed in Southeastern Arizona
Jul 17 2017 // The National Weather Service confirmed a small tornado has touched down in southeastern Arizona. Meteorologists confirmed the sighting through images on social media after issuing a tornado warning for the Picacho Peak and...
Wyoming Wildfire Caused by Lightning, Investigators Say
Jul 13 2017 // Investigators have determined that lightning ignited a wildfire that has burned about 3 square miles of timber in southeast Wyoming. The fire burning in the Keystone area of Medicine Bow National Forest began July 3. After...
As California Wildfire Wanes, Evacuees Return and Damage is Measured
Jul 13 2017 // Relief was arriving after a rough stretch of wildfires all around the U.S. West, with firefighters slowly surrounding once-fierce blazes and evacuees starting to stream back home. Authorities surveying the damage from a...
Windstorm Egon’s Insurance Loss Estimate Rises to US$314.7M: PERILS
Jul 13 2017 // The estimated property insurance losses for Windstorm Egon, which hit France and Germany on Jan. 12-13, 2017, have been revised upwards to €275 million ($314.7 million) by PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company...
California Wildfires Feeding on Grass Fed by Winter Rain
Jul 12 2017 // Wildfires driving people from their homes in California and throughout the West have had help from an unlikely source: the rain. Major winter downpours that pulled the state out of years of drought also brought a layer of...
RMS Launches New Models for Tropical Cyclone & Earthquake in Asia Pacific
Jul 12 2017 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, has introduced typhoon models for wind and flood for South Korea and Taiwan, plus four new earthquake models for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and...
300-Plus Canadian Wildfires Force Closures of Lumber Mills, Natural Gas Facility
Jul 12 2017 // More than 300 wildfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian lumber mills and an Enbridge Inc. natural gas compressor station to shut as hot, dry weather fans blazes across swaths of western Canada and the...
