Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Carolina Insurance Head Talks Lessons Learned After Historic Flood
May 31 2016 // This aerial photo show flooding around homes in the Carolina Forest community in Horry County, between Conway and Myrtle Beach, S.C. The state was pummeled in early October by a historic rainstorm that caused widespread...
NOAA’s 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast: 45% Chance of Near-Normal; 30% Above Normal
May 27 2016 // Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center say the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30, will most likely be near-normal, but they also say this season is particularly...
With Hurricane Season About to Open, Forecasters Already Eyeing East Coast
May 27 2016 // When the Atlantic hurricane season starts next week, the most active area might just be off the U.S. East Coast. At this time of year, passing cold fronts that linger over waters warmed by the late spring sun can trigger...
Hurricane Center Updating Storm Surge Maps for North Carolina’s Outer Banks
May 27 2016 // New storm surge maps for the Outer Banks of North Carolina will be available this summer. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported that the National Hurricane Center will release the maps to predict where and how deep...
Texas’ Coastal Wind Insurer Expects $4.9B in Funds for 2016 Hurricane Season
May 27 2016 // While its reinsurance plans for the 2016 hurricane season haven’t yet been nailed down, Texas’ insurance company of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast expects to have around $4.9 billion in...
Tornadoes Destroy Homes in Western Kansas, Damage Assessment Begins
May 26 2016 // Crews were evaluating the damage Wednesday after tornadoes destroyed several homes and left two people critically injured in western Kansas as a series of severe storms swept across the Plains. Meanwhile, one person...
Oklahoma Commissioner: 4 Insurers Have 55% of Earthquake Market
May 25 2016 // Data released at a May 24 hearing to determine the competitiveness of earthquake insurance coverage in Oklahoma shows that four insurance companies have 55 percent of the market in the state. That’s a concern for...
Oklahoma Regulators Warn Insurers on Earthquake Coverage Hikes
May 25 2016 // Oklahoma regulators grappling with a massive increase in small earthquakes in the state linked to growing oil and gas production said on May 24 they were concerned with spiking rates for earthquake insurance coverage and...
Oregon Transportation Needs Include Preparing for Earthquake Damage
May 25 2016 // A major fault off the Oregon Coast is expected to produce an earthquake, and transportation officials say preparing for that event needs to be a top priority. The Medford Mail Tribune reported a Cascadia Subduction Zone...
Canada’s Oil Sands Facilities Prepare to Restart as Wildfires Begin to Slow
May 25 2016 // All of the Canadian oil-sands facilities that workers fled last week as a wildfire spread are being allowed to prepare for restart as cool, humid weather has helped contain the inferno. Alberta lifted mandatory evacuation...
Citizens Board Approves $2.46B Risk Transfer Program for 2016 Hurricane Season
May 25 2016 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors has approved a $2.46 billion risk transfer program as the state heads into the 2016 hurricane season, the insurer said in a statement. By...
3 Tornadoes Reported in South Dakota
May 24 2016 // Severe storms that crossed South Dakota led to reports of at least three tornadoes, including one that caused damage. The National Weather Service says a tornado in Tripp County on Sunday evening prompted reports of downed...
AIA Urges Mitigation, not Regulation to Ease Oklahoma’s Quake Coverage Woes
May 24 2016 // In testimony submitted to Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner, the American Insurance Association (AIA) has suggested that the state look at mitigation, rather than further regulation of the earthquake insurance market...
Disaster Fraud Rampant After Floods, Hurricanes
May 24 2016 // This year, extensive flooding has already affected parts of Texas and Louisiana. With more rain producing floods in the forecast for the southern part of the U.S. this spring, the likelihood of disaster fraud...
Earthquake Resilience & The Big One
May 23 2016 // Most people aren’t prepared for the big one. If there was one common theme at a three-day earthquake conference in downtown Long Beach, Calif., that was it. The National Earthquake Conference that took place in early...
Insurers Limit Earthquake Exposure in Oklahoma
May 23 2016 // As the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma exploded into the hundreds in the last few years, nearly a dozen insurance companies moved to limit their exposure, often at the expense of homeowners, a Reuters examination has...
Industry Partners with University of Alabama on Tornado Preparedness Guide
May 23 2016 // The Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce has partnered with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, the Alabama Department of...
RMS Opens New Office in Tallahassee, Florida
May 19 2016 // RMS, a global catastrophe risk management firm, has opened a new office in Tallahassee, Florida after the acquisition of HWIND Scientific in October 2015. According to a statement from RMS, the new Florida office gives it...
Alberta Wildfires Could Cost $7B with Minimal Insurer Credit Hit: Ratings Agencies
May 17 2016 // The Fort McMurray wildfires, which have been raging through northern Alberta, Canada since May 1, are likely to be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, according to recent reports issued by catastrophe...
Alberta Wildfires Spread North, Threatening Oil Sands Facilities, Workers’ Camps
May 17 2016 // Wildfires raging across northern Alberta for more than two weeks have come to within a kilometer of an Enbridge Inc. oil-sands transportation terminal as warm weather and wind spread the flames, while workers were...
