Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arkansas Had More than 1,200 Wildfires Last Year
Jan 23 2017 // Arkansas forestry officials say 2016 was a relatively quiet year for wildfires, but the fires still burned nearly 30 square miles in the state. The Arkansas Forestry Commission says there was a total of 1,248 wildfires...
Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Fires… Oh My! Southeast Weathers Tough 2016
Jan 23 2017 // It is fair to say 2016 was the year of the catastrophe in the Southeast. Tornadoes, drought, floods, hurricanes and wildfires impacted virtually every state in the region. For the insurance industry, these events made for...
Top Global Corporate Risks: Business Interruption, Market Developments, Cyber, Current Events and More
Jan 23 2017 // Business interruption is a top global corporate risk for the fifth year in a row. But worries about Brexit and the new U.S. President Donald Trump also made the list of companies’ 2017 fears and uncertainties in a...
Oklahoma Earthquakes, Saltwater Disposal Volumes Decline
Jan 23 2017 // Recent reports show that disposal well operators placed about 23 percent less saltwater into Oklahoma’s deepest geological formation within the earthquake zone in 2016 compared to the previous year. In addition,...
Mississippi Tornado Kills 4, Causes At Least $200M in Insured Damage
Jan 23 2017 // Rain was pouring down in the pre-dawn darkness, and the wind was picking up as Darryl McMorris ran for his daughters’ bedroom. The windows started blowing out as he dove on top of his girls, grabbing one under each...
Tennessee Wildfire Insurance Claims Top $842M
Jan 23 2017 // State officials say insurance claims have topped $842 million in the deadly eastern Tennessee wildfires that burned thousands of buildings. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported the number, provided the Tennessee Department...
Earthquake Risk: Spotlight on Canada
Jan 20 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. What is ‘The Big One’? When assessing earthquake risk in Canada, many commonly refer to ‘The Big One’ that will eventually strike British...
Team Formed to Review How Wildfire Spread to Tennessee Tourist City
Jan 19 2017 // Authorities are forming a team to investigate the massive fires that tore through a Tennessee tourist city late last year, killing 14 people. The team will be made up of representatives from the Park Service, the U.S....
26% of Natural Disaster Economic Losses in 2016 Were Insured: Aon Benfield Cat Report
Jan 17 2017 // Overall, just 26 percent ($54 billion) of overall economic losses caused by natural disasters worldwide during 2016 were covered by insurance as a higher percentage of damage occurred in areas with a lower insurance...
Northridge Quake Anniversary Prompts Reminders For California Residents
Jan 17 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority put out a notice reminding residents in the state that Tuesday marks the 23rd anniversary of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The magnitude-6.7 shake that widespread damage to freeways,...
Severe Storms Cause Damage Across Texas
Jan 17 2017 // A powerful storm system unleashed strong winds and torrential rains across much of Texas over night on Sunday, knocking out power, damaging homes and flooding streets. Authorities say at least 30 homes were damaged when...
Tornado That Touched Down in California Not So Rare
Jan 13 2017 // The latest storm to wallop Northern California whipped up a small tornado that downed trees and fences near Sacramento. Here’s what you need to know about twisters in California, which occur regularly but in limited...
California Wholesalers Conference Tackled Everything from Marijuana to Trump
Jan 12 2017 // How legalized marijuana and President-elect Donald Trump will affect the insurance industry, a possible merger of the nation’s two major excess and surplus lines organizations, renewing the National Flood Insurance...
Business Interruption Remains Top Corporate Concern in 2017: Allianz
Jan 12 2017 // Business interruption is a top global corporate risk for the fifth year in a row. But worries about Brexit and incoming U.S. President Donald Trump also made the list of companies’ 2017 fears and uncertainties in a...
Report: Oklahoma Saltwater Disposal Volumes Decline in Earthquake Zone
Jan 11 2017 // Recent reports show that disposal well operators placed about 23 percent less saltwater into Oklahoma’s deepest geological formation within the earthquake zone in 2016 compared to the previous year. The year-end data...
Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Fires… Oh My! 2016 A Rough Year for the Southeast
Jan 11 2017 // It is fair to say 2016 was the year of the catastrophe in the Southeast. Tornadoes, drought, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires impacted virtually every state in the region. For the insurance industry, these events made for...
Kansas Universities Mulling Increase in Earthquake Insurance Coverage
Jan 9 2017 // Regents system universities in Kansas are reviewing earthquake insurance policies after several quakes were reported in the state this year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the universities’ chief financial...
West Regulation Report Card: California Most Politicized State
Jan 9 2017 // A report gives California’s insurance regulatory environment low marks for auto body repair rules, the insurance commissioner’s call for insurers to divest from coal, its prior approval law and being the...
Expert: Remote Nevada Earthquakes Big Enough to Cause $1B in Damage
Jan 9 2017 // A trio of significant earthquakes that struck a remote part of western Nevada along the Sierra Mountains’ eastern last month were big enough to cause as much as $1 billion in damage if they had been centered beneath...
Weather Service: At Least 8 Tornadoes Hit Louisiana on Jan. 2
Jan 6 2017 // The National Weather Service says at least eight tornadoes hit Louisiana on Jan. 2. Survey teams conclude twisters damaged parts of Avoyelles, Beauregard, Evangeline, Rapides and Tangipahoa parishes. The most powerful...
