Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Buildings, Tractors Burn in Louisiana Wildfires
Feb 12 2016 // Louisiana state forestry officials reported another wildfire in Natchitoches Parish, along Louisiana Highway 117 southwest of Natchitoches. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene after a building fire spread into a...
U.S. Victims of Mexican Drug Gangs Sue HSBC Bank Under Anti-Terrorism Act
Feb 10 2016 // Families of U.S. citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico sued HSBC Holdings Plc, claiming the bank can be held responsible for the deaths because it let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their...
Earthquakes May Be the ‘800-Pound Gorilla’ in Oklahoma Legislature
Feb 8 2016 // The power and frequency of earthquakes in Oklahoma have been increasing, but the Legislature has done little to try to curb the temblors that scientists have linked to the underground disposal of oil and gas drilling...
Officials: 2 Quakes Caused more than $100K in Damage in Wichita
Feb 8 2016 // Wichita officials say the city suffered more than $100,000 in damage from two earthquakes in early January. The Wichita Eagle reports the city will pay for the repairs out of its operating budget because the city’s...
Death Toll Rises from Taiwan Earthquake; Chip-Making Plants to Re-Open Quickly
Feb 8 2016 // The number of confirmed deaths in a weekend earthquake in Taiwan edged up to 37, with the final toll estimated to be much higher as more than a hundred people were still reported missing. Efforts to dig through collapsed...
$1.4M from Oklahoma’s Emergency Fund Tapped for Earthquake Research
Feb 8 2016 // Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin approved the use of nearly $1.4 million from the state’s emergency fund to go to groups researching earthquakes. The fund is set aside for the state’s response to natural disasters. It...
Texas Led Nation in Cat Losses in 2015
Feb 8 2016 // Tornadoes, hailstorms and fires took their toll on Texas last year with insured losses well over $3 billion, according to an insurer trade group The state had more than three times as many claims and almost three times the...
Record Western Wildfires a Contrast in Otherwise Quiet Year for U.S. Natural Disasters
Feb 8 2016 // It was a relatively quiet year for natural disasters – except for those living in the Western United States, according to property data provider CoreLogic, in its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis, released...
Numerous Tornadoes Strike Southeast, Damage More Than 90 Homes
Feb 5 2016 // The National Weather Service says at least four tornadoes struck rural areas of western Alabama on Tuesday. NWS reports four tornadoes also touched down Tuesday in eastern Mississippi. Officials say an EF2 tornado struck...
Source of Devastating 1964 Alaska Tsunami Discovered
Feb 4 2016 // Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey have solved a 50-year natural science mystery: the undersea source of tsunami waves that devastated a remote Alaska village following the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. Underwater...
Tornadoes Damage Mississippi, Alabama Communities
Feb 4 2016 // Tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and Alabama as thunderstorms swept through the area Tuesday, while a powerful snowstorm buried parts of Colorado and Nebraska in more than a foot of snow before crawling into the Upper...
West Texas Wildfire Destroys 7 Homes
Feb 2 2016 // An official says a wildfire destroyed seven homes in a rural area near the West Texas town of Eula. Meanwhile, a wildfire burned almost 3 square miles of ranch land north of Amarillo. The fires, which both started on Jan....
Karen Clark & Co. Announces 2 Additions to Senior Management Team
Feb 1 2016 // Karen Clark & Co. (KCC), a catastrophic risk management consulting and modeling firm, announced two additions to its senior management team — Nozar Kishi and Christopher Mossey. Kishi assumes the role of vice...
Multi-Year Trend of Reduced Natural Hazard Activity Continues in 2015
Feb 1 2016 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Low-Level Hazard Activity Results in Decreased Damage and Loss Totals Looking at the big picture, 2015 was a quiet year in terms of natural hazard activity. Overall,...
Oklahoma Governor OKs $1.4M in State Funds for Earthquake Research
Jan 31 2016 // Gov. Mary Fallin approved the use of nearly $1.4 million in state emergency funds for state agencies working to reduce the increasing number of earthquakes that have been linked to the disposal of oil and gas wastewater in...
Florida Tornado Tosses Vehicle Driving on Turnpike
Jan 29 2016 // A tornado picked up a southbound vehicle on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Lauderdale Wednesday morning and dropped it in the northbound lane as a line of severe storms hit the area, officials said. They said the...
Record Western Wildfires a Contrast in Otherwise Quiet Year for U.S. Natural Disasters
Jan 28 2016 // It was a relatively quiet year for natural disasters – except for those living in the Western U.S. Property data provider CoreLogic today released its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The report shows...
Texas Governor Seeks Federal Disaster Help after Tornadoes
Jan 28 2016 // Gov. Greg Abbott has requested a federal disaster declaration for some Texas counties after deadly late-December blizzards and tornadoes. Abbott on Jan. 26 announced the request for individual assistance for people in...
2015 Cat Bond Activity Down Slightly from Record Levels in 2014: GC Securities
Jan 27 2016 // While property and casualty catastrophe bond primary issuance levels were “uncharacteristically low” in the fourth quarter of 2015, totals at year-end were only slightly lower than the all-time high levels...
Insurance Department Tally on California Wildfires $1B
Jan 26 2016 // Damage from two destructive Northern California wildfires that killed six and sent thousands fleeing their homes topped $1 billion in insured losses, according to a preliminary estimate by the state’s insurance...
