Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FEMA Questions Mississippi City’s Spending of 2014 Tornado Recovery Grant
Oct 17 2016 // A division of the federal government says the city of Louisville, Miss., should repay a $25.4 million grant awarded for recovery from a 2014 tornado. However, state Auditor Stacey Pickering said he is working with federal...
Wildfires Threaten Alabama; Governor Signs No Burn Order
Oct 14 2016 // Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday signed an order banning outside fires across most of Alabama because dry conditions have led to fast-spreading wildfires. The governor signed the drought emergency declaration, putting 46...
Hurricane Matthew May Be Gone, But Insurance Industry’s Work is Just Starting
Oct 14 2016 // It’s been nearly a week since Hurricane Matthew ravaged the Southeast coast but the insurance industry’s job of responding to the devastation and assessing the total cost of damage from the storm is just...
Hurricane Nicole Weakens After Direct Bermuda Hit; Storm Trackers Comment
Oct 14 2016 // Hurricane Nicole made a direct hit on Bermuda Thursday as the strongest hurricane to affect the Atlantic archipelago in 13 years, according to a report issued by Weather Underground. The storm’s impact on Bermuda has...
AIR Estimates Hurricane Matthew Insured Losses at $8.8 Billion
Oct 13 2016 // Hurricane Matthew, which devastated parts of the Caribbean before battering the U.S. East Coast, may cost insurers as much as $8.8 billion, according to AIR Worldwide. The catastrophe-modeling firm estimates insured losses...
Experts Warn of Long Waits for Post-Hurricane Home Repairs
Oct 13 2016 // There will be plenty of large-scale reconstruction to do in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which has been blamed for dozens of deaths since it made its first U.S. landfall Friday and is still causing catastrophic flooding...
Using Big Data to Predict Terrorist Acts Amid Privacy Concerns
Oct 13 2016 // Before Ahmad Khan Rahami planted bombs in New York and New Jersey, he bought bomb-making materials on eBay, linked to jihad-related videos from his public social-media account and was looked into by law enforcement agents,...
Caribbean Cat Facility, CCRIF, to Pay $29.2M to Nations Hit by Hurricane Matthew
Oct 13 2016 // CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) will make payouts of US$29.2 million to CCRIF member countries as a result of damages incurred from Hurricane Matthew. The payouts, which will be made...
Category 4 Hurricane Nicole Lashes Bermuda with Winds & Flooding Rain
Oct 13 2016 // Hurricane Nicole, which has become a Category 4 hurricane, will continue to lash Bermuda with winds and flooding rain through Thursday, according to a report issued by AccuWeather. As a Category 4 hurricane with sustained...
LIU Launches War and Terrorism Coverage for U.S. Businesses
Oct 13 2016 // Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance, has launched stand-alone war and terrorism coverage to protect U.S. businesses at home and their assets abroad. In 2014, the cost of global...
Kennedy Space Center Reopens After Suffering Significant Hurricane Damage
Oct 13 2016 // NASA’s Kennedy Space Center reopened for business Tuesday, relying on industrial air conditioners rushed in from around the country in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Director Robert Cabana said the damage – mostly...
Study Finds Climate Change Could Lead to More Hurricanes on NYC Coast
Oct 12 2016 // Hurricanes could start flooding New York City’s coastline as often as every 20 years due to the effects of climate change on sea-level rise and hurricane activity, scientists said on Monday. Water could surge some 9...
North Carolina Flooding from Hurricane Matthew Worsens, Death Toll Rises
Oct 11 2016 // Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew has displaced several thousand people in North Carolina, and authorities were helping more evacuate on Tuesday as swollen rivers threatened a wide swath of the state. Governor...
Wind and Rain from Hurricane Matthew Block Roads, Cut Power in Virginia
Oct 11 2016 // High water and downed trees are blocking roads and tens of thousands of people are without power as southeastern Virginia cleans up after Hurricane Matthew’s heavy rain and winds. Dominion Virginia Power says more...
USGS: Two Small Earthquakes Confirmed in Oklahoma
Oct 10 2016 // The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded four small earthquakes in northern Oklahoma. No injuries or damage are reported. A magnitude 3.1 quake was recorded at 6:10 a.m. Saturday 16 miles northwest of Fairview, 93 miles...
International Forum of Terrorism Risk Re/Insurance Pools Launched
Oct 10 2016 // Pool Re, the state-backed UK reinsurer that covers terrorism related commercial property losses, announced the launch of the International Forum of Terrorism Risk Re/Insurance Pools (IFTRIP). The formation of IFTRIP is the...
Researchers Say Rise in Foreclosures Tracks with Spike in Oklahoma Earthquakes
Oct 10 2016 // Contrary to the trend in most of the nation, home foreclosure rates in Oklahoma have risen over the past two years, and some researchers say increased earthquake activity in the state may be a factor. California-based...
Citizens Warns Florida Policyholders of AOB Scams in Wake of Hurricane Matthew
Oct 10 2016 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is urging its policyholders to call Citizens first to report losses following Hurricane Matthew in order to protect themselves from assignment of benefit (AOB) scams, according to a...
Hurricane Matthew Smashed Haiti Villages; Death Count Near 900
Oct 9 2016 // Hurricane Matthew killed almost 900 people and displaced tens of thousands in Haiti before plowing northward on Saturday just off the southeast U.S. coast where it caused major flooding and widespread power outages. The...
Forecasters Lower Matthew Loss Estimates
Oct 9 2016 // On Friday, a catastrophe modeling firm slashed its estimate for insurance losses from Hurricane Matthew on Friday, as the storm skirted Florida but failed to make landfall. Kinetic Analysis had estimated the insured losses...
