Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
40-Plus Structures Burned in Kansas, Oklahoma Wildfire
Mar 31 2016 // Officials say a wildfire that burned hundreds of square miles of rural land in Oklahoma and Kansas this week destroyed at least 41 structures in both states. Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says...
Officials Raise the Number of Homes Destroyed in Kansas Wildfire
Mar 30 2016 // The biggest wildfire in Kansas history has been largely contained, but authorities said more homes were damaged than originally thought. The Kansas Adjutant General’s Office said that nine Barber County homes were...
New Mexico Weather Creating Dangerous Wildfires Conditions
Mar 30 2016 // Authorities are warning that weather conditions across much of New Mexico are creating conditions ripe for dangerous wildfires. A red flag warning has been issued for portions of southern, central and eastern New Mexico...
USGS Report: North Texas Earthquake Risk ‘Elevated’
Mar 29 2016 // A U.S. Geological Survey report concludes the risk of earthquakes for the Dallas-Fort Worth area is higher than it’s ever been. The USGS review incorporates “induced” earthquakes into federal seismic...
Kansas Forest Service: Giant Wildfire Mostly Contained
Mar 29 2016 // The biggest wildfire in Kansas history is largely contained, although firefighting efforts could be hindered by more gusty winds. The Kansas Forest Service says crews were patrolling areas hit by the wildfire that has...
Ash from Southwest Alaska Volcano Rises 20,000 Feet
Mar 29 2016 // A remote and active volcano on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands erupted, sending ash 20,000 feet into the air, scientists said. The U.S. Geological Survey says the Pavlof Volcano, which is about 600 miles southwest of...
U.S. Seismic Risk Maps Now Include Earthquakes Caused by Humans
Mar 28 2016 // Earthquakes caused by human activity will now be included in the U.S. Geological Survey’s seismic risk maps, the agency said on Monday after a sharp rise in temblors linked to wastewater disposal wells used by the...
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner: Man Scammed Moore Tornado Victims
Mar 28 2016 // An Oklahoma City man is facing felony charges for scamming a Moore couple out of $3,577.53. The money was part of the insurance settlement the couple received after their home was damaged in the March 25, 2015...
ISO to Collect Terrorism Insurance Data for Treasury
Mar 28 2016 // The property/casualty insurance data and rating organization ISO will collect and help analyze terrorism data this year for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the federal agency charged with gauging the effectiveness of...
2015 Global Insured Losses Lowest Since 2009 Despite El Niño Effects: Carpenter
Mar 25 2016 // One of the strongest El Niño periods on record and a positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation were the climate drivers in 2015 that led to an exceptional season of Pacific tropical storms and severe windstorms and...
Re/Insurers Must Respond to Evolving Terrorist Risk with Relevant Products: JLT
Mar 25 2016 // The re/insurance industry is failing to respond to the growing global terrorist threat with products that meet the needs of their clients, according to a report published by JLT Re and JLT Specialty Ltd. Indeed, evidence...
Hailstorms Pummel North Texas, Again
Mar 24 2016 // Large hail and strong winds caused considerable damage in heavily populated areas of north Texas overnight on March 23. It was the second time just over a week that the area has been pummeled by hail. Car windows and sky...
Michigan Auto Insurance Fee for Catastrophic Injuries to Increase
Mar 24 2016 // The annual auto insurance fee that Michigan drivers pay toward caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes is rising to $160, a $10 increase. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association announced the new per-car...
Texas Regulators: Mid-March Hail Storm Was Insurance ‘Catastrophe’
Mar 24 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance has determined the weather-related event that occurred March 16, 2016, through March 17, 2016, in the counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Johnson, and Parker is a catastrophe for the purpose of...
Officials: Mississippi Flood Damage Most Widespread Since Hurricane Katrina
Mar 24 2016 // Mississippi officials say the damage from floods this month is the most widespread the state has had since Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson tells The Clarion-Ledger federal...
Farmers CEO Remembers Joplin Tornado at California Gala
Mar 21 2016 // Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers Insurance, turned what could have been a mere acceptance speech into a lesson-filled personal account of his first time seeing the devastation wreaked by the May 2011 tornado in Joplin,...
Dry, Windy Weather in North Carolina Increasing Mountain Wildfires
Mar 21 2016 // Windy and dry conditions are causing an increase in the number of wildfires in the North Carolina mountains. Media outlets report that a 60-acre fire near Bearwallow Mountain southeast of Asheville that firefighters have...
Alabama to Host Scientific Research Study of Southern Tornadoes
Mar 21 2016 // Weather researchers say they expect about 40 scientists from around the nation to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South. Like...
Meteorologists Pioneer Method of Predicting Tornadoes Weeks in Advance
Mar 21 2016 // Researchers say they’ve come up with a way to predict the likelihood of tornadoes two or three weeks in advance – a step toward better warnings of storms that kill an average of 80 Americans each year. Victor...
Midwest Pounded by Tornado-Packing Storms
Mar 18 2016 // The National Weather Service confirmed that on tornadoes touched down this week in parts of eastern Iowa that also endured heavy rain and hail as large as golf balls. Tornadoes also touched down at least five times in...
