Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
USGS Lowers Seismic Hazard Forecast for Oklahoma in 2017
Mar 31 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
Mississippi Long-Term Recovery Agency Back to Work in Tornado-Ravaged Areas
Mar 29 2017 // The long-term recovery agency in Hattiesburg, Miss., R3SM, is still getting some of its people in place, but officials with the organization say it is ready to take on the huge job of leading three of the four counties hit...
Insured Cat Losses in 2016 Rose 42% at Highest Level Since 2012: Swiss Re
Mar 28 2017 // Insured losses from disasters rose 42 percent to $54 billion last year, according to Swiss Re. That’s the highest since 2012 and the equivalent of 0.07 percent of global gross domestic product. Floods in Europe, the...
Cat 4 Cyclone Debbie Pounds Australia; Insurance Council Declares Catastrophe
Mar 28 2017 // A powerful cyclone tore into Australia’s northeastern coast on Tuesday, forcing thousands of people to flee, shuttering coal to gold mines and prompting insurers to declare a catastrophe. Cyclone Debbie made landfall...
Florida Conditions Ripe For More Wildfires
Mar 28 2017 // The smell of smoke is in downtown Orlando. On Sunday, a brush fire caused a part of State Road 528 to be shut down between Orlando and the Space Coast. A fire burned last week near the north-central Florida town of Bunnell...
Hailstorms Slam Parts of North Texas
Mar 27 2017 // Thunderstorms, producing up to softball size hail, pounded several cities north of Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex Sunday night causing extensive damage, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. Thousands of homeowner and auto...
Insurers, Victims Sue Saudi Arabia Over Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks
Mar 27 2017 // Saudi Arabia is facing a renewed $6 billion lawsuit by dozens of insurers seeking to hold it responsible for business and property damage caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The lawsuit filed late Thursday in the U.S....
California Congressmen Introduce Earthquake Mitigation Tax Incentives
Mar 22 2017 // A pair of Congressmen from California today introduced the Earthquake Mitigation Incentive and Tax Parity Act of 2017 to exclude incentives for residential seismic retrofits from federal taxation. The act was introduced by...
9 Homes Destroyed in Oklahoma Wildfire
Mar 22 2017 // Fire officials are suggesting a blaze that has destroyed at least nine homes in eastern Oklahoma and forced the evacuation of more than 100 others may have been intentionally set. Highway 9 Volunteer Fire Department chief...
Thunderstorms Just as Costly to Insurers as Hurricanes: Study
Mar 22 2017 // Risk to U.S. property from thunderstorms is as high as from hurricanes, according to new research finding that for the past decade, severe convective storms have been the largest annual aggregated risk peril to the U.S....
Wildfire Destroys Homes near Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy
Mar 21 2017 // A fire chief says a wildfire has destroyed at least eight homes and several other buildings near Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy. Keystone Lemoyne Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Ralph Moul said on March 20 that the blaze...
6 Texas Counties Declared Disaster Areas After Wildfires
Mar 20 2017 // Six counties in the Texas Panhandle have been declared disaster areas by Gov. Greg Abbott following the deadly wildfires that swept through the area on March 6 – 7 burning more than 440,000 acres. Abbott’s...
Ranchers in Midwest Assessing Damage After Wildfires
Mar 20 2017 // Thousands of livestock are estimated to have been killed in the wildfire that spanned two counties along Kansas’ southern border in early March, but the actual numbers likely will not be totaled for some time. One...
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas Wildfires Tracked by New Satellite
Mar 16 2017 // When wildfires scorched more than 1 million acres in early March across parts of the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and Kansas, forecasters used a new weather satellite to see the infernos developing, almost in real time. The...
20 Kansas Counties Declared Disaster Areas after Wildfires
Mar 16 2017 // Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a final disaster declaration covering 20 counties following last week’s wildfires that burned more than 1,000 square miles of the state. Brownback signed the declaration on March...
Texas’ Costliest Year for Hailstorms Began on March 16, 2016
Mar 16 2017 //
Michigan Raising Auto Insurance Fee for Catastrophic Injuries to $170
Mar 16 2017 // The annual auto insurance fee Michigan drivers pay toward caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes is rising to $170, a $10 increase. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association announced the new per-car...
Dolly Parton Fund Aids 921 Tennessee Wildfire Victims
Mar 16 2017 // Dolly Parton’s My People Fund has issued monthly checks to 921 people who lost their homes in deadly wildfires that ravaged East Tennessee last year. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Dollywood Foundation...
Forestry Services: Wildfires in Oklahoma, Kansas 42% Contained
Mar 15 2017 // Oklahoma Forestry Services says four wildfires in northwestern Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas are now 42 percent contained, but a high fire danger continues in the region. The agency said that the largest fire is the...
Author of Texas ‘Hailstorm’ Bill Says ‘Significant Changes’ Made
Mar 15 2017 // The Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee on March 9 heard testimony on a revised bill that aims to limit the number of policyholder lawsuits filed against property insurance companies following severe weather...
