Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kansas Tornado Damages 10 Homes, Destroys Trailer
Apr 27 2016 // The National Weather Service is surveying damage from a northern Kansas tornado that left two people with minor injuries, damaged about 10 homes and destroyed a trailer. National Weather Service meteorologist Brian...
Central U.S. States Hit with Tornadoes, Strong Storms
Apr 27 2016 // A powerful spring storm brought strong winds and baseball-sized hail to several central states on April 26, with tornadoes spotted in Kansas and Oklahoma as the severe weather marched east, forecasters said. The storm...
Average to Below-Average Wildfire Season Expected for Colorado
Apr 27 2016 // Firefighters said Tuesday they expect another average or below-average wildfire season in Colorado in 2016, the third mild year in a row. “That’s always good news,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said after...
Retrofitting in Utah, Nevada Spurred by Earthquake Report
Apr 26 2016 // A new report raising the likelihood of a destructive earthquake striking Salt Lake City, Utah in the next half century has underscored the urgency to retrofit more than 30,000 older brick homes and other unreinforced...
2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Should See Normal Activity of 12 Names Storms: CSU
Apr 25 2016 // The coming Atlantic hurricane season should produce a near-average 12 named storms before it ends in November, according to Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the pioneering Colorado State University forecast. At least five of...
Colorado State Hurricane Forecaster Gray Passes Away
Apr 25 2016 // He changed the way the world looks at hurricanes, and in later years he challenged the science behind climate change, but most people will probably remember Bill Gray as the creator of the modern seasonal forecast for...
Economic Property Damages of Japan Earthquakes to Cost $2.5B-$3.5B: RMS
Apr 25 2016 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, estimated that economic property damage for both the April 15 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 earthquake and April 14 Mw6.4 earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto...
Key Florida Players to Highlight Importance of Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 25 2016 // Although the role of catastrophe reinsurance in a wind exposed region is intuitively obvious to an insurance professional and most insurer rating agencies, the need for transparency, education and open dialogue on this...
Cameras Trained on Mountains around Lake Tahoe Help Wildfire Battle
Apr 22 2016 // A growing network of cameras trained on the mountains around Lake Tahoe is changing the way crews fight Western wildfires by allowing early detection that triggers quicker, cheaper, more tactical suppression than...
Allstate Racks Up Big March Losses from Southwestern Hailstorms
Apr 21 2016 // The Allstate Corp. this week announced estimated catastrophe losses for the month of March of $638 million pre-tax, and an estimated $827 million pre-tax for first quarter 2016, in the wake of severe hailstorms in the...
Willis, Aon and Verisk Agree: Q1 Cat Bonds Hit Record Issuance
Apr 21 2016 // There’s more evidence that catastrophe bond issuance hit record territory again during Q1. This time, Aon Securities and a division of Willis Towers Watson are making the call, after a Verisk arm did so earlier in...
Japanese Earthquakes Could Cost Insurers $2.9 Billion: AIR Worldwide
Apr 21 2016 // An earthquake that struck southern Japan on April 16 will probably cost insurers as much as 320 billion yen ($2.9 billion), according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide. The cost might be as low as 180 billion yen, the...
Sierras Along California, Nevada Line Long Overdue for Big Quake
Apr 20 2016 // Scientists say the Sierra’s eastern front is long overdue for a large earthquake along the California-Nevada line, where a magnitude-7 event expected on average every 30 years hasn’t occurred in six...
Catastrophe Exposure Grows with Selective Use of Alternative Capital: A.M. Best
Apr 20 2016 // Insurers in the London, Europe and Bermuda markets writing catastrophe-exposed business take a different approach to retention of risk at the 1-in-100-year return level in comparison to the 1-in-250-year level, according...
Oklahoma to Hold Hearing on Earthquake Insurance Rate Increases
Apr 19 2016 // Concerned about a competitiveness in the state’s earthquake insurance market, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak has ordered a public hearing to investigate rising rates. The May 24 hearing will include...
CEA Says It Could Pay All Claims if San Francisco 1906 Quake Hit Today
Apr 18 2016 // The California Earthquake Authority is taking the opportunity to tout its financial strength on the 110-Year anniversary of 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. CEA, a not-for-profit publicly managed organization that provides...
EU Contributes $15.8M to Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility
Apr 18 2016 // The European Commission has agreed to contribute €14 million ($15.8 million) so the governments of Central American countries and the Dominican Republic can access to “low cost, high quality catastrophe risk...
Ecuador Earthquake’s Death Toll Rises; AIR Worldwide Comments
Apr 18 2016 // World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. The number of dead has climbed to at...
Death Toll Rises from Japanese Earthquakes; Supply Chain Disruptions Examined
Apr 18 2016 // The death toll from earthquakes that struck southern Japan rose to 42 and the economic impact began to reverberate Monday as companies surveyed damage and the potential effects on production from supply-chain...
Oregon Considers Renewal of Lloyd’s Wildfire Insurance Policy
Apr 18 2016 // Oregon is considering another year of insurance coverage to help pay for catastrophic wildfire seasons. British insurance giant Lloyd’s is offering the state another year of coverage despite three consecutive years...
