Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
National Hurricane Center, Florida University to Launch Hurricane Site in Spanish
Jul 1 2015 // The National Hurricane Center and Florida International University are launching a new Spanish-language website for hurricane preparation. The website will include information on hurricane science, residential mitigation...
California Funds Incentives For Earthquake Protection
Jun 29 2015 // When California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the 2015-2016 budget, it included $3 million in funding to expand the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program and clarified that the program’s grants are income-tax exempt at the...
Updated AIR Hurricane Model for U.S. Features Storm Surge Module
Jun 29 2015 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has updated its hurricane model for the U.S. to help insurers and reinsurers better understand and quantify the risk from hurricanes. The update features a hydrodynamic storm...
How Terrorism Reinsurance Law Uncertainty Affected Market
Jun 29 2015 // After a slight dip in the wake of the brief lapse of the terrorism reinsurance program in early 2015, terrorism insurance market conditions are steady again, although there have been some noteworthy changes in behavior,...
Models for Explosions from Terrorist Attacks Could Reduce the Carnage
Jun 25 2015 // While catastrophic event models mainly focus on weather related events, the world also has to cope with catastrophic terrorist acts, particularly those caused by explosive devices placed in areas where they will cause the...
Alaska Wildfires Grow, Prompt Evacuations
Jun 24 2015 // Intensifying wildfires in Alaska have led to evacuations in several parts of the state, including a tiny village where residents fled on boats. A firefighter on one blaze also was treated for a bear bite after encountering...
Michigan Hit with Damaging Winds, Tornados, Flooding
Jun 24 2015 // A series of severe thunderstorms that pushed damaging winds and tornados into several parts of Michigan on Monday and Tuesday wrecked homes and knocked out power to thousands of people, officials said. From Monday...
Severe Storms, Tornado Damage Homes, Injure 7 in Illinois
Jun 24 2015 // At least seven people were injured as severe thunderstorms that swept across northern Illinois spawned a tornado, damaged homes and uprooted trees. Particularly hard hit Monday night was Coal City, a community of...
‘Seismicity’ – Re/Insurers Ponder the Impact of Human-Caused Earthquakes
Jun 24 2015 // Earthquakes, the natural kind caused by the movements of vast tectonic plates, have been occurring since the dawn of time. But now there is a new type of quake, the study of which has been labeled “seismicity,”...
Newbridge Writes Political Violence, Terrorism Risks via Castel MGA Platform
Jun 24 2015 // Newbridge Risk Partners has launched operations on Castel Underwriting Agencies MGA formation platform, targeting political violence and terrorism risks in emerging markets. The new underwriting cell will be focused on the...
Cat Modeling in a New, More Open Phase: Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting
Jun 23 2015 // Over 30 years ago, Karen Clark produced the first catastrophe model – for hurricanes. Since then the use of these valuable tools has changed the face of the re/insurance industry. They are indispensable for the...
Allstate Estimates May Catastrophe Losses at $178M
Jun 19 2015 // The Allstate Corp. has estimated its catastrophe losses in the U.S. for the month of May 2015 of $178 million before tax from eight events. Four severe weather events accounted for over 77 percent of the estimated...
Remnants of Tropical Storm Bill Headed for the Midwest
Jun 18 2015 // Tropical Storm Bill wrung out almost 12 inches of rain over parts of eastern Texas, was downgraded to a depression and then handed off from the National Hurricane Center to the Weather Prediction Center. That doesn’t...
Tropical Storm Bill Makes Landfall in Texas with 60 MPH Winds
Jun 16 2015 // Tropical Storm Bill came ashore on the Texas mainland this morning near Seadrift, packing heavy rains that will drop as much as 10 inches along the coast. Bill’s winds were 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour, up from...
Another Alaska Wildfire Prompts More Evacuations
Jun 16 2015 // Firefighters are battling a second wildfire in Alaska and officials say hundreds of homes have been evacuated and six structures have burned. The fast-moving blaze erupted Monday on the Kenai Peninsula, roughly 100 miles...
Ground Gained Large Wildfire in Northern California
Jun 15 2015 // Firefighters made progress late Sunday in battling a lightning-sparked Northern California wildfire that has been burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest for five days, officials said. Light winds helped firefighters...
Ramsey Joins Catalytic, Builds Wind Underwriting Team, Capacity
Jun 15 2015 // Specialist property catastrophe underwriting manager, Catalytic Holdings has hired industry veteran Sam Ramsey to lead its newly-formed wind underwriting business. Ramsey joins Catalytic from All-Risks Ltd. where he headed...
Windstorm Insurance Bill Stirs Lively Debate in Texas House
Jun 15 2015 // Differences of opinion on the never-ending problem of what to do about property insurance along the coast had lawmakers from coastal areas pitted against inland representatives in the waning days of the Texas legislative...
Geologists Studying Cause of Recent String of Alabama Earthquakes
Jun 15 2015 // Jim Sterling didn’t know what had hit his 156-year-old antebellum home when an earthquake struck Alabama’s old plantation region early one morning last November. Startled, he grabbed a gun and ran outdoors. In...
It’s Time for Congress to Prepare for Hurricane Season
Jun 15 2015 // Thousands of Americans have been working to prepare their homes and businesses for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season which began on June 1, so why isn’t Congress taking steps to get its own house in...
