Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
IBHS: After Katrina, Roofing Regulations Stronger on Gulf Coast
Aug 26 2015 // According to new research by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, stronger building codes and standards, along with more stringent requirements for inspections, building permits, and contractor...
Hurricane Katrina: The Numbers Tell Their Own Story
Aug 26 2015 // In a 25-year span leading up to 2005, homeowners insurers in Louisiana wrote a total of $13 billion in homeowners insurance premium, from which they earned $1 billion in profit, according to the chief actuary at the state...
Tropical Storm Erika Could Reach Florida by Monday
Aug 26 2015 // A “Hurricane Hunter” airplane has found that Tropical Storm Erika strengthened slightly as it approached the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, where warnings and watches have been posted, the U.S. National...
Update: Hurricane Center Keeping Eye on Tropical Storm Erika
Aug 25 2015 // A “Hurricane Hunter” reconnaissance plane headed out Tuesday to investigate Tropical Storm Erika, a disorganized system on a path yet to be pinned down. Erika touched off tropical storm watches on some of the...
Typhoon Goni Makes Landfall on Japan, Causing Injuries, Evacuations
Aug 25 2015 // Typhoon Goni made landfall on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu, causing injuries and prompting evacuation orders. Cancellations of airline and train service affected thousands of people. Goni, which had...
Hurricane Danny Dies, but Peak Hurricane Season Looms
Aug 24 2015 // Although what was once Hurricane Danny has degenerated into a “trough of low pressure” in the eastern Caribbean, according to the Nation Hurricane Center, a new disturbance in the middle of the Atlantic has a...
Geologist: Kansas Earthquakes Linked to Injection Wells
Aug 24 2015 // Kansas Geological Survey believes an increase in earthquakes in two southern Kansas counties is linked to saltwater injection after oil and natural gas drilling, according to an agency scientist. The agency had said in the...
Study: Ventura, Oxnard in California Could be at Greater Tsunami Risk
Aug 24 2015 // A study says two California coastal cities are at greater risk from tsunamis than previously thought. The study released last week by the American Geophysical Union examined the flooding risk if earthquake faults in the...
Researchers Find Link Between Atlantic Hurricanes and Amazon Wildfires
Aug 24 2015 // Researchers have uncovered a “remarkably strong link” between high wildfire risk in the Amazon basin and the hurricanes that ravage North Atlantic shorelines. The wildfire-hurricane association is a result of...
Hurricane Danny Weakens to Tropical Depression
Aug 24 2015 // As of 8 a.m East Coast time, Danny, which became a Category 3 hurricane last Friday, had weakened substantially to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center...
‘Tiny’ Hurricane Danny Expected to Weaken
Aug 21 2015 // Tiny Hurricane Danny strengthened on its path across the Atlantic and may reach the Leeward Islands sometime Monday. With top winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour, Danny is now a Category 2 storm on the five-step...
8 Ways Katrina Changed Commercial Property Insurance
Aug 21 2015 // Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans 10 years ago, is responsible for a number of changes in the commercial property insurance market. According to Rick Miller, U.S. property practice leader at Aon Risk...
Lawsuit Relief Needed for TWIA Depopulation Plan to Work: Lawmakers
Aug 21 2015 // A new law that becomes effective Sept. 1 in Texas will give the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the coast more leeway in a plan to reduce its overall exposure by incenting private...
At Least 36 Homes Destroyed by Oregon Wildfire
Aug 20 2015 // The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says at least 36 homes have been destroyed by an Eastern Oregon wildfire, 10 more than previously reported. Gov. Kate Brown met Wednesday with victims of the fire near John Day and...
Danny Turns Into Hurricane, Atlantic Season’s First
Aug 20 2015 // Danny became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season as its top winds grew to 75 miles per hour in the seas east of the Windward Islands. The Category 1 storm, about 1,090 miles (1,754 kilometers) from the islands,...
New U.S. Satellite Aims to Unlock Mysteries of Hurricanes
Aug 20 2015 // Hurricanes hold lots of secrets. Unlocking them can help forecasters predict the next steps the deadly storms will take. That, in turn, will help improve computer forecast models and give meteorologists a better...
Texas Extends Deadline in Windstorm Insurance Board Search
Aug 19 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance is extending its deadline for accepting applications for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association board to September 1. The original deadline for applications was Aug. 15. The board is...
10 Years After Katrina, Coastal Cities Face Greater Flood Risk: RMS
Aug 19 2015 // A decade after Hurricane Katrina caused $41 billion in property/casualty insurance losses, the most expensive catastrophe for the global insurance industry, rising sea levels are driving up expected economic and insurance...
Tropical Storm Danny to Become Hurricane? Maybe, Maybe Not
Aug 19 2015 // A storm-free August in the Atlantic was probably too much to ask for. Tropical Storm Danny formed out of a cluster of thunderstorms Tuesday about 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands. There’s...
S&P: ILS Investors Could Get Burned as Covered Perils Expand, Terms Widen
Aug 19 2015 // The catastrophe bond market will continue to grow by 10 to 20 percent per year, driven in part by the increase in covered perils and the broadening of event definitions, according to a report published by Standard &...
