Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Benefits As Yield-Thirsty Investors Line Up for Hurricane Bonds
May 30 2014 // In 2008, Florida’s government-run property insurer paid Warren Buffett $224 million to agree to buy its debt if a major storm struck. Six hurricane-free years later, the state is turning investors away. With...
Various Factors Contributing to Stability in Property/Casualty Insurance Market
May 29 2014 // The federal terrorism risk insurance backstop, in place in one form or another since 2002, will likely be reauthorized by Congress, and in the absence of a major catastrophe — man-made or otherwise — the current...
New Texas Windstorm Rules Establish Method for Issuing Bonds
May 29 2014 // New rules posted by Texas insurance regulators on May 23 implement a process by which bonds may be issued on behalf of the state’s wind insurer of last resort for properties along the Texas coast. The Texas...
California Wildfire Zone Treated to Calmer Weather
May 29 2014 // Weather looks to be friendlier for firefighters today as they hope to fully contain a Central California wildfire that led to the destruction of two homes. Some 50 residents were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday...
New York Tornado Almost Hit Stored Fireworks
May 29 2014 // The tornado that touched down in rural eastern New York last week nearly caused a big bang. The owner of a fireworks business said the EF3-rated twister narrowly missed steel storage containers with thousands of pounds of...
Falling Reinsurance Rates by Cat Bond Competition Eroding Primary Prices: Zurich
May 29 2014 // A slide in reinsurance rates under competition from catastrophe bonds is starting to weigh on prices that companies like Zurich Insurance Group AG charge their own customers. The decline in the cost of reinsurance is...
New York City Officials Launch Hurricane Awareness Campaign
May 28 2014 // New York City officials are launching a hurricane awareness campaign to help residents prepare for the upcoming storm season. “Know Your Zone” is being billed as a “one-stop-shop” for hurricane...
North Dakota Tornado Tears Through Oil Patch, Injures 9, Destroys Trailers
May 28 2014 // Investigators headed to western North Dakota on May 27 to assess the strength of a tornado that injured nine people, including a 15-year-old girl who suffered critical injuries, and damaged or destroyed 15 trailers at a...
Technology Changing Perceptions of Tornadoes, Damages
May 28 2014 // Experts say that advances in technology, particularly social media, are changing how people watch for severe weather and how quickly images of the damage can be shared. John Robinson, the warning coordinator for the...
Cause of Arizona Wildfire Under Investigation
May 28 2014 // A team of investigators from the U.S. Forest Service’s law enforcement wing worked Tuesday to determine the cause of an Arizona wildfire between Flagstaff and Sedona, relying in part on dozens of tips from...
Arkansas Governor: $68.7M in Damage Claims Following Tornadoes
May 27 2014 // The office of Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe says $68.7 million in damage claims have been filed for individual and commercial entities in Faulkner, Pulaski, Randolph and White Counties following the April 27 tornadoes. The...
Alaska Wildfire Grows After Evacuations
May 27 2014 // Rain forecast this week in Alaska may help crews gain control over a massive wildfire that forced dozens of people to flee to shelters and move some of their animals to safety at rodeo grounds. The Funny River Fire in the...
Tsunami Debris Skiff Found On Washington Coast
May 23 2014 // More than three years after the tsunami hit Japan, evidence of the disaster continues to haunt the West Coast where residents know they also are vulnerable. A skiff that was once used by someone near Sendai washed ashore...
Rural Eastern Idaho Visited by Small Tornado
May 23 2014 // Authorities say a small tornado in a rural area of eastern Idaho caused no damage or injuries. The National Weather Service says the twister touched down at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday about 10 miles northwest of American Falls...
NOAA: Near- Or Above-Normal Central Pacific Hurricane Season
May 22 2014 // Climate conditions point to a near-normal or above-normal hurricane season in the Central Pacific Basin this year with patterns possibly affected by an El Niño weather pattern, NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane...
Lloyd’s U.S. Chief on Board with Climate Change
May 22 2014 // Despite risking offense to non-believers, Hank Watkins didn’t hesitate when he was asked if climate change was upon us. Watkins, president of Lloyd’s America, talked about an extensive report Lloyd’s of...
Dramatic Increase in Oklahoma Wildfires Causing Concern
May 22 2014 // Data from the Oklahoma Forestry Services shows that wildfires in Oklahoma so far this month have burned more than sixty times the average recent acreage. The Oklahoman reports that since May 2005, the state has averaged...
Colorado Bracing for Possibility of More Storms, Tornadoes
May 22 2014 // Meteorologists say six tornadoes touched down east of Denver on Wednesday and more spring thunderstorms are expected Thursday along the Front Range and eastern Colorado. No significant damage was reported from the twisters...
Firefighters battle Arizona wildfire, Now More Than 7.5 Square Miles
May 22 2014 // A wildfire that started in a scenic canyon snaked toward Flagstaff on Thursday, prompting residents of outlying areas to prepare to flee and blanketing the city in smoke. The human-caused Slide Fire started Tuesday and had...
NOAA Forecasts Near-or-Below Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 22 2014 // In its 2014 Atlantic hurricane season outlook issued today, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a near-normal or below-normal season. NOAA said the main driver of this year’s outlook is the...
