Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
After Drenching Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm Cindy Heads North, East
Jun 23 2017 // The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy brought tornadoes and flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday and its heavy rains will drench much of the eastern United States in coming days, forecasters said. Flooding and road...
Tropical Storm Cindy Bears Down on Gulf Coast
Jun 22 2017 // Tropical Storm Cindy churned slowly on Wednesday across the Gulf of Mexico toward an expected landing on the Texas-Louisiana border, after claiming the life of a vacationing child and threatening to bring flash floods from...
Tropical Storm Cindy Heads Toward Texas/Louisiana Border
Jun 21 2017 // The National Hurricane Center reports that a tropical storm warning is in effect from San Luis Pass Texas to the mouth of the Mississippi River as Tropical Storm Cindy moves closer to the central Gulf Coast. The storm...
Texas Study Links Pollution, Earthquakes to Oil and Gas Drilling
Jun 21 2017 // A new study by a nonprofit science organization says oil and gas drilling in Texas is linked to pollution and earthquakes. The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas study found drilling for oil and gas in...
Weight of Swollen Reservoir Blamed for Arkansas Earthquake Swarm
Jun 20 2017 // Earthquakes in northern Arkansas are being linked to the weight of extra water at a flood-swollen reservoir. Earthquake geologist David Johnston works with the Arkansas Geological Survey. He says the added weight of the...
Northwest Wyoming Hit by Earthquake Swarm
Jun 19 2017 // A swarm of earthquakes hit the northwestern part of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming last week, the U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed. The USGS says the quakes occurred in a backcountry area of Yellowstone National...
Facebook Opens Up About How It Is Removing Terrorist Content
Jun 19 2017 // Facebook Inc. on Thursday offered new insight into its efforts to remove terrorism content, a response to political pressure in Europe to militant groups using the social network for propaganda and recruiting. Facebook has...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Finances Sound at Start of Hurricane Season
Jun 19 2017 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) says it is financially sound and ready for the 2017 hurricane season after once again securing $4.9 billion in total funding. TWIA is the insurance carrier of last resort...
Insurance Research Finds Many Homeowners Don’t Understand Deductibles
Jun 15 2017 // Almost five years after Superstorm Sandy, one third of homeowners in several coastal states are still unaware of hurricane deductibles and how they work, new insurance research has found. Not only did 33 percent of...
Insurers Adapt Terrorism Policies with Loss of Attraction, Violent Acts, Other Coverages
Jun 15 2017 // The changing nature of attacks in Western cities has led insurers to offer new policies, from straightforward cover for business lost due to police cordons to more risky compensation for declines in tourism. Terrorism...
Families of 7 Children Killed in Oklahoma Tornado Settle with School System
Jun 14 2017 // A suburban Oklahoma City school system and its insurer have agreed to pay about $14,000 to each of the families of seven children who died four years ago when their school was destroyed by a tornado. The deal, announced by...
Suspected Tornado Damages Nebraska Panhandle Town
Jun 14 2017 // Residents in a small western Nebraska town were clearing away tree and building debris Tuesday after a suspected tornado tore through the town but injured no one. The storm struck Bayard around 7:10 p.m. on June 12,...
Rains Nearly Extinguish Vast Georgia Wildfire Burning Since April
Jun 14 2017 // A wildfire that burned vast acreage and at one point threatened hundreds of homes near the Georgia-Florida state line has been nearly extinguished after steady rains soaked the Okefenokee Swamp over the past week. The team...
Hawaii’s Big Island Hit by M5.3 Earthquake
Jun 12 2017 // A magnitude-5.3 earthquake shook Hawaii’s Big Island, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. No damage was reported in the quake, which the USGS said was centered about 11 miles (18 kilometers) southeast of Volcano...
Chubb Boosts Capacity for Terrorism, Political Violence, War Insurance
Jun 12 2017 // Chubb said it is now offering increased insurance capacity of up to US$150m/ €150m (previously US$100m/ €100m) for terrorism, political violence and war risks in response to evolving threats and increased demand from...
U.S. Storms in May to Cost Insurers $3B; Economic Costs Total $4B: Aon Report
Jun 9 2017 // Total aggregated economic losses from severe weather in the U.S. during May was set to exceed US$4.0 billion, while public and private insurers face a combined payout approaching an estimated US$3.0 billion, according to...
RMS Releases Updated N. America Earthquake Models for U.S., Canada & Mexico
Jun 9 2017 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, announced the release of version 17.0 of its North America Earthquake Models for the United States, Canada and Mexico. The updated model will enable RMS...
Active Atlantic Hurricane Season Looms – as Odds Drop of El Niño Formation
Jun 9 2017 // Forecasters again lowered the odds of El Niño forming by year’s end, a scenario that may mean more Atlantic hurricanes at a time when federal agencies charged with predicting and responding to natural disasters lack...
After 18 Months, Houston Hurricane Vulnerability Documents Arrive from Feds
Jun 8 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Eighteen months ago, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica asked the federal government for some documents. At the time, we were investigating what will happen the...
It’s Hurricane Season! Is Your Customer Ready?
Jun 7 2017 // For the first time in several years, I didn’t get tense because June 1 was coming. In fact, I totally missed June 1 until June 2. I totally forgot about June 1. Oh, right. You may not be thinking about June 1, like I...
