Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hiscox Adds Property Damage Protection to Terrorism Insurance Product
Jan 22 2016 // Hiscox has enhanced its stand-alone terrorism portfolio by adding new products covering property damage from malicious attacks utilizing nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological (NCBR) devices. Hiscox NCBR policies...
Oklahoma Officials Avoid Tough Measures Despite More, Stronger Quakes
Jan 20 2016 // In Oklahoma, now the country’s earthquake capital, people are talking nervously about the big one as man-made quakes get stronger, more frequent and closer to major population centers. Next door in Kansas,...
Grants Now Available to Strengthen Older California Homes
Jan 20 2016 // California homeowners have until Feb. 20 to apply for up to $3,000 in funding for retrofits to protect their homes from catastrophic earthquake damage. The Earthquake Brace + Bolt program today opened the registration...
Florida Tornadoes Leave 2 Dead, Several Injured
Jan 19 2016 // Florida officials say two adults have been killed and four children have been injured after two tornadoes swept through central Florida. Manatee County EMS officials tell WFLA-TV that several people were injured as severe...
Earthquake Rattled Hawaii’s Big Island
Jan 19 2016 // An early morning earthquake rattled Hawaii’s Big Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The USGS reported the magnitude 3.9 struck at 1:52 a.m. on Monday and was centered about 35 miles southwest of Hilo, near the...
Hundreds of Oklahomans Turn Out for Earthquake Hearing
Jan 19 2016 // Oklahoma residents concerned with a dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes called for more regulations on the oil and gas industry on Jan. 15 and urged state leaders to take action to stop the quakes. About 200...
Weather Service: Tornado Hit Southern California in Last Week’s El Niño Storms
Jan 15 2016 // The National Weather Service says a small tornado touched down in Ventura County, Calif. during last week’s powerful El Niño-driven storms. Meteorologists conducting a storms survey determined the tornado swept...
New Tsunami Hazard Found in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands
Jan 15 2016 // Geologists in Alaska have found evidence that a 125-mile section of the eastern Aleutian Islands that was once considered unlikely to generate earthquakes may be a future source of temblors – as well as potentially...
Oklahoma Residents Sue 12 Energy Companies Following Earthquakes
Jan 14 2016 // A group of Edmond residents has filed a lawsuit against 12 energy companies, claiming that their saltwater disposal wells were partly to blame for earthquakes in central Oklahoma in recent weeks. The lawsuit seeks a...
Insured Nat Cat Losses 31% Below Average During 2015: Aon Benfield Report
Jan 14 2016 // Global natural disasters in 2015 caused a combined total insured loss of $35 billion – 31 percent below the 15-year average of $51 billion and the lowest annual insured loss total since 2009, said a report issued by...
Nations Must Wake Up to Catastrophic Potential of Pandemic Risk: Report
Jan 14 2016 // In October of 2000, an Ebola outbreak was detected in Gulu, Uganda. The virus spread across the country, infecting 425 people and killing over half of them. It was a wakeup call for the African nation, but apparently not...
Texas Seeking Professionals for Windstorm Model Peer Review
Jan 12 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is seeking professionals to conduct a peer review of a model developed to determine causes of insured losses on the coast. The model was developed by an expert panel appointed to...
Southwest Florida Cleans-Up Damage from Weekend Tornado
Jan 12 2016 // Authorities say a weekend tornado that touched down in southwest Florida with winds up to 135 mph damaged several homes, left thousands without power for a time, but caused no serious injuries or deaths. Police say the...
Palomar Launches Equity Protector Residential Earthquake Product in California
Jan 11 2016 // Palomar Specialty Insurance Company has launched Equity Protector, a residential earthquake insurance policy in California. Equity Protector provides for the protection of $50,000 or $75,000 in Coverage A – Dwelling...
Officials: Arkansas Wildfires Burned 14,652 Acres in 2015
Jan 11 2016 // Arkansas forestry officials say wildfires engulfed fewer acres in 2015 when compared to the previous year. Data released by the Arkansas Forestry Commission on Friday said 14,652 acres burned last year, compared to 16,687...
Preliminary Data: Kansas Saw Big Increase in Tornadoes in 2015
Jan 11 2016 // Kansas’ 124 confirmed tornadoes in 2015 were 83 more than the previous year, tying for the fourth highest number since 1990, according to the National Weather Service’s preliminary data. Eric Metzger, a...
California Earthquake Authority’s 2016 Changes Aim to Increase Policy Count
Jan 11 2016 // It’s about the closest thing to DIY earthquake insurance as one can get, though there’s definitely no indication that the newest consumer-friendly features being rolled out by the California Earthquake...
Tennessee Twisters Total 19 in 2015, Lowest Since 2007
Jan 11 2016 // Weather officials say 19 tornadoes touched down in Tennessee last year, marking the state’s lowest total since 2007. The National Weather Service said one tornado struck the state in April and two touched down in May...
Preliminary Insured Loss Estimate from Texas Tornadoes: $1.2B
Jan 11 2016 // Texas is dealing with approximately $1.2 billion in insured losses so far from nine confirmed tornadoes that struck the Dallas metro area on Dec. 26, 2015, and killed 11 people, according to preliminary estimates from the...
Dallas-Area Tornadoes Account for a Big Chunk of December Insured Losses in U.S.
Jan 7 2016 // A recently released report shows that damage estimates from the natural disaster events that occurred in the United States in December 2015 will amount to more than $4 billion. Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model...
