Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wildfire Burns Through Historic California Gold Mining Town, Destroying Multiple Homes
Sep 3 2025 // A quick-moving wildfire burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners, forcing evacuations and destroying properties. The fire rapidly expanded to 6,473 acres, forcing the evacuation...
AP Reporters Reflect on Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later
Sep 2 2025 // Hurricane Katrina claimed hundreds of lives, destroyed homes and changed how emergency response is dealt with forever. In this episode of “The Story Behind the AP Story,” retired Associated Press journalist...
Viewpoint: Delay, Deny, Defend for California Wildfire Claims?
Sep 2 2025 // Eight months after the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles, commercial and residential policyholders continue to report unreasonably long delays, dubious denials, and conspicuously low settlements. Most...
NOAA Develops Tool to Predict Hourly US Wildfire Hazards
Aug 29 2025 // Scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Global Systems Laboratory said it has developed an hourly assessment of wildfire potential across the U.S. The Boulder, Colorado-based...
The Ghost of Hurricane Katrina Haunts Catastrophe Modelers
Aug 29 2025 // When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans in August 2005, causing greater insurance losses than any other natural disaster in history, it became clear that a lot of the city’s flood protection engineering —...
Canada’s 2023 Wildfires Pushed Air Pollution to Decade-Level Highs
Aug 29 2025 // Canada’s record-breaking 2023 wildfire season led to a spike in air pollution in the country and in the US, erasing recent progress in cleaning up the air, according to new analysis. The wildfires, which burned 42...
Climate Change Made Turkey, Greece Wildfires 10 Times More Likely: Scientists
Aug 29 2025 // The wildfires that raged across Greece, Turkey and Cyprus this summer were 22% more intense and 10 times more likely than they would have been in a world without climate change, according to scientists. The extremely hot,...
Wildfire Burning in Central California Forest Area Is Latest Blaze of Concern
Aug 28 2025 // A fast-growing wildfire burning in central California’s Sierra National Forest in Fresno County in a remote area is the latest blaze of concern for firefighters. The Garnet Fire has burned more than 13,900 acres and...
Hurricane Remnants Threaten Swiss Alps With Floods, Landslides
Aug 28 2025 // The remnants of Hurricane Erin will contribute to torrential rain across the Swiss Alps over the next two days, raising the risk of dangerous flooding and landslides. Switzerland’s state forecaster has issued the...
Viewpoint: Earthquake Insurance and Surplus Lines: Clarifying a Legal Grey Zone
Aug 28 2025 // The California property insurance market is undergoing a dramatic shift. As admitted carriers restrict their appetite for business in the state—particularly in high-risk zones—surplus lines insurers are increasingly...
20 Years Later, Hurricane Katrina’s Impact Echoes in Models, Mitigation and Reforms
Aug 27 2025 // Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina swamped parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, the property insurance sector is better prepared for another catastrophic storm and the litigation that may follow, according to industry...
When Luck Runs Out: Where $100B Hurricanes Might Happen
Aug 27 2025 // Lists published every hurricane season, adjusting the amounts of insurance losses for past events for inflation to current-dollar levels, give a misleading picture of the potential for a single event costing insurers $100...
California’s new take on wildfire loss models, and what this means for property insurers
Aug 26 2025 // The California Department of Insurance (CDI) has made some serious moves to tackle the state’s insurance crisis head on, last year launching its Sustainable Insurance Strategy (SIS). With the SIS came a set of...
Containment Increases on California Wine Country Wildfire
Aug 26 2025 // Containment has increased on a rural California wine country wildfire that was burning out of control and threatening thousands of properties. The Pickett Fire exploded in the Napa Valley last week, prompting evacuations...
20 Years After Katrina, Hurricane Risks to Gulf Coast Rising, Scientist Warns
Aug 25 2025 // The Gulf Coast of the United States is increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes, a scientist has warned in a new study, 20 years after Katrina devastated New Orleans and hundreds of miles of coastline. Mark Bove, a...
Typhoon Kajiki Nears Vietnam, Bringing Strong Winds and Rain
Aug 25 2025 // Typhoon Kajiki made landfall along the northern part of Vietnam’s central coast on Monday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that prompted a warning of possible flash floods and landslides across multiple...
Hurricane Erin Is Disrupting Both Europe’s Weather and Forecasts
Aug 22 2025 // Hurricane Erin is muddling computer models and making forecasters, analysts and traders question the accuracy of the outlook for heat, wind and storms across Europe next week. Erin, which churned through the Atlantic 330...
Markets/Coverages: Volvo Launches Independent Agency; Arden’s Wildfire Program Backed by SiriusPoint
Aug 22 2025 // Volvo Launches Independent Agency Auto manufacturer Volvo has launched an independent insurance agency offering not just car insurance for Volvos but also home and umbrella insurance. The Mahwah, New Jersey-based Volvo Car...
How Hurricanes, Fires and Floods Put Drugs and Medical Supplies at Risk
Aug 22 2025 // When Hurricane Helene barreled across several southern states last fall, it destroyed homes and killed more than 150 people. The storm also took out one of the country’s main factories producing intravenous fluid...
Hurricane Erin to Menace Eastern US Beaches Into the Weekend
Aug 21 2025 // Hurricane Erin is triggering dangerous beach conditions across much of the US East Coast that will likely last into the weekend, as the storm pushes north in the waning days of the summer travel season. Erin is not...
