Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Earthquake Authority Creates Online Home Vulnerability Evaluator
May 15 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority has created an online tool to help home inspection specialists evaluate a house’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. The online tool, QuakeGrade, uses information entered by an...
Study: Expected Increase in Tornadoes Raises Risk to Mobile Homes
May 15 2017 // Tornadoes and mobile homes don’t mix to begin with, but throw in the volatility of climate change and the potential for massive property damage and deaths is even higher in coming decades, indicates a new study by...
Insurance Industry-Backed Storm Damage Bill Passes Texas House
May 15 2017 // The passage in the Texas House of a bill limiting liability for property insurance companies sued by policyholders following weather related events has given the insurance industry, which lobbied strongly for the bill,...
How a Border-Adjustment Tax Would Hurt Louisiana’s Insurance Market
May 12 2017 // Louisiana already has some of the highest property insurance rates in the nation. But they could creep higher still—an estimated $1.11 billion higher over the next decade—should congressional tax-reform efforts limit...
Wisconsin Under State of Emergency for Wildfire Danger
May 12 2017 // Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency as the state faces heightened wildfire conditions. Walker issued an executive order directing all state agencies to assist with potential wildfire response and...
Bermuda Re/Insurers Hit by Ogden Rate Change, Higher Nat Cats: S&P
May 12 2017 // A big change in the Ogden rate in the UK and higher natural catastrophe losses are dampening a wide range of Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer results in the 2017 first quarter, Standard & Poor’s said in a new...
Evacuations Continue in Georgia Wildfire Zone But Many Defy Orders
May 10 2017 // Jessica Boldin and her family evacuated 15 horses, six dogs and other animals from their ranch in rural Georgia as a vast wildfire emerging from the Okefenokee Swamp blackened trees behind their home. Flames that pushed...
U.S. Weather Remains Biggest Driver of Global Insurance Losses in 2017: Aon
May 10 2017 // Severe weather in the U.S. remains the largest contributor to global insurance losses in 2017 after April continued the trend with multi-billion dollar losses for public and private insurers, according to Impact...
Florida Ag Commissioner Says ‘No End in Sight’ as Wildfires Burn Statewide
May 10 2017 // Three schools canceled classes due to smoky conditions from a nearby wildfire as Florida’s agriculture commissioner said the state is in the “midst of its worst wildfire season in years – with no end in...
Arsonists Blamed for 320 Florida Wildfires in 2017
May 9 2017 // Florida officials say arsonists have ignited about 320 wildfires so far this year, burning more than 20,000 acres across the state. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said severe drought conditions have increased the...
2 Tornadoes Confirmed in Atlanta Area
May 9 2017 // Weather officials have confirmed that two Atlanta-area sites were touched by tornadoes on Thursday. The National Weather Service said Friday in a news release that a tornado with winds of 75-85 mph (121-137 kph) touched...
California Earthquake Authority Creates Online Home Vulnerability Evaluator
May 8 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority has created an online tool to help home inspection specialists evaluate a house’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. The online tool, QuakeGrade, uses information entered by an...
Wild Weather Causes Damage Across Southeast
May 8 2017 // Storms moving across the Southeast late last week caused damage from high winds and tornadoes in some parts, as well as sparked fires, in multiple states. Officials say tropical storm-force winds blew down power lines and...
Dozens Forced to Evacuate in Southern Georgia as Wildfire Spreads
May 8 2017 // Several dozen people in Georgia’s southernmost county have been evacuated after a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp has begun to burn just a few miles from the St. George community. Saturday’s evacuation...
Palomar Specialty, AAA Club to Offer Earthquake Insurance in Oklahoma
May 8 2017 // Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. has partnered with AAA Club Alliance to offer residential earthquake insurance, starting in Oklahoma. According to AAA Oklahoma Vice President of Insurance Russ Iden more than half of the...
Oklahoma Earthquake Risk: What a Difference Year Makes
May 8 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. For nearly the past decade, the growing number of earthquakes in Oklahoma has gained widespread attention. As described in the CoreLogic® Insights Blog Earthquake...
Texas House Passes ‘Hailstorm’ Bill Aimed at Weather Damage Lawsuits
May 5 2017 // Note: this story was originally published in the Texas Tribune. The Texas House gave initial passage on May 4 to a bill that would make it harder for property owners to sue insurers over weather-related damage to...
Alaska’s 24/7 Earthquake Monitors on Budget Chopping Block
May 5 2017 // Alaska might lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors due to budget cuts. The Juneau Empire reported that as of March 1, more than 25 percent of the Alaska Regional Seismic Network has been offline. Since 2013, staff has...
Study Warns of Rising Risk to Mobile Homes from Tornadoes
May 5 2017 // Tornadoes and mobile homes don’t mix to begin with, but throw in the volatility of climate change and the potential for massive property damage and deaths is even higher in coming decades, indicates a new study by...
Correction: Weekend Tornado Count in Mississippi Rises to 24
May 4 2017 // The National Weather Service says it has confirmed that at least 24 tornadoes hit Mississippi during storms on Sunday. Surveyors are expected to continue examining damage Wednesday. So far, meteorologists have confirmed...
