Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tornado Causes Extensive Damage in Coastal City of Revere, Mass.
Jul 29 2014 // A storm system that wreaked havoc across the eastern U.S. spawned a tornado just north of Boston on Monday, causing extensive damage in the coastal city of Revere, where roofs were ripped off buildings and dozens of large...
Cost Of Fighting Washington Wildfires So Far: $50 Million
Jul 29 2014 // The cost of fighting this season’s wildfires in Washington, including the largest one in the state’s history, has crossed the $50 million mark. Bolstered by the nearly 400-square-mile wildfire in north-central...
California Wildfire Destroys 13 Homes, Hundreds of Homes at Risk
Jul 28 2014 // Firefighters in Northern California made progress Sunday against a wildfire that has destroyed 13 homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in the Sierra Nevada foothills, while a fire near Yosemite National Park that...
Hartwig Turns Back King Hammurabi’s Playbook on Resilience
Jul 24 2014 // The U.S. government today may be starting to embrace concepts that date back to Babylonian King Hammurabi’s reign some 3,800 years ago. When President Barack Obama on July 16 issued a set of climate change...
Typhoon Matmo Spares Taiwan from Major Damage; Moves to China: AIR Analysis
Jul 24 2014 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Matmo, the third typhoon in the western Pacific Basin in less than three weeks, “made landfall in Taiwan around midnight, local time, Tuesday night with...
Typhoon Matmo Targets Taiwan, Southeastern China: AIR Analysis
Jul 23 2014 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Matmo (called Henry in the Philippines) formed in the Philippines Sea and became a tropical storm on July 17. It is the third typhoon to form in the northwest...
Rains Good, Lightning Bad for Biggest Wildfire in Washington History
Jul 22 2014 // People afflicted by the massive Carlton Complex fires in north-central Washington may get some relief tonight and over the next few days in the form of wetter, cooler weather. But then again the system moving in may bring...
Travelers Posts $683M Q2 Profit, Misses Estimates as Catastrophe Losses Rise
Jul 22 2014 // Property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos. Inc.’s quarterly earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates as hail and wind storms in the United States increased catastrophe losses. The company, a Dow Jones...
AP Finds That Wildfire Citations in California Applied Unevenly
Jul 21 2014 // A review by The Associated Press of California government data has found a wide discrepancy in how state and local fire officials apply fines and citations for failing to clear vegetation in areas prone to wildland...
More Data Can Increase Hurricane Exposure Understanding: ImageCat
Jul 21 2014 // According to Gavin Lewis, commercial director of ImageCat, a US and London based risk management provider, “even in the middle of hurricane season, catastrophe risk managers can improve their understanding of their...
Typhoon Rammasun, Strongest Storm in Decades, Kills 18 in China
Jul 21 2014 // The strongest typhoon to hit southern China in four decades has killed 18 people, the government said Sunday, while in the Philippines the death toll from the storm’s earlier destruction rose to 94. Typhoon Rammasun...
Texas Hailstorm Damage Estimated at $400M
Jul 21 2014 // Insured losses to vehicles, homes and commercial property from the June 12 hailstorm in Abilene, Texas, are expected to hit $400 million, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported. Leroy Perkins of the Perkins...
Storm Season a Reminder of the Importance of Building Stronger
Jul 21 2014 // A home in Burnet County, Texas, that was picked up and carried 100 yards by a tornado in June, was reinforced according to its owner, Trenton Ashworth. When the twister hit, the family of four took cover in a bathroom. The...
State Farm Hurricane Deductibles in Louisiana Jump to 5%
Jul 21 2014 // State Farm’s 308,000 Louisiana homeowner’s customers are confronting an unpleasant change: their policies now include a mandatory 5 percent hurricane deductible. State Farm spokesman Gary Stephenson told The...
Peremption for Me, But Not for Thee
Jul 21 2014 // The Difference Between Insurance Agents and the Insurers They Represent Hurricane season 2014 had barely begun when Hurricane Arthur formed and wreaked havoc along the East Coast during the 4th of July weekend. Whether the...
Report: $100M in Losses from Southern California Quake
Jul 21 2014 // The moderate earthquake that struck Southern California in spring did more damage than people may think – and a bigger quake on that fault could be more devastating than a “big one” on the region’s...
16 States Face High Risk of Earthquakes
Jul 20 2014 // Sixteen states are at high risk of damaging earthquakes over the next 50 years and certain areas of the United States face a higher threat of temblors than previously thought, a federal geological survey agency said. The...
Hailstorm Damages Crops in Northeastern Wisconsin
Jul 18 2014 // A severe hailstorm caused significant damage to crops in northeastern Wisconsin, farmers and researchers said. Matt Stasiak, an agricultural researcher, tells the Door County Advocate the hail crushed cherry trees,...
Typhoon Rammasun Poised to Strike Hainan Province in China: AIR
Jul 18 2014 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, after striking the Philippines with high winds and floods, “a strengthening Typhoon Rammasun is set to make landfall in China between 6 and 12 UTC on July 18,...
Insured Losses From Hurricane Arthur Below $250 Million: RMS
Jul 18 2014 // Insured losses from Hurricane Arthur will not exceed $250 million from wind and coastal flooding, catastrophe risk modeling firm RMS said. According to RMS, the expected loss covers damages to Residential, commercial,...
