Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Final Report on Joplin Tornado Highlights Communication, Building Standards
Apr 2 2014 // A federal agency’s final report about its technical investigation into the 2011 Joplin tornado calls for nationally accepted standards for building design and construction, and public shelters and emergency...
Tornado in Western Minnesota Damages Farms
Apr 2 2014 // A tornado has damaged at least three farms in rural Minnesota, but no injuries are reported. Yellow Medicine County Sheriff Bill Flaten said in a statement the tornado was reported about 4 p.m. on March 31 southeast of St....
Tsunami Advisory In Effect for Hawaii from Chile Quake
Apr 2 2014 // U.S. officials say they’ve found no imminent threat of a tsunami along the coasts of Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon or Washington after a major earthquake near Chile. Paul Whitmore, the director of the National...
Huge Earthquake off Chile’s Northern Coast Triggers Tsunami
Apr 2 2014 // A major earthquake measuring magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday, causing five deaths and triggering a tsunami that pounded the shore with 2 meter [app. 2 ½ feet] high waves. Officials said the...
Officials Consider Issuing Tsunami Warning for Hawaii
Apr 1 2014 // A tsunami warning could be issued for Hawaii due to a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck on Tuesday off the coast of Chile, U.S. officials said. If tsunami waves reach Hawaii they would strike at 3:24 a.m. (9:24 a.m. ET)...
April Renewals Confirm Reinsurance Rates Continue to Fall: Willis Re Chairman
Apr 1 2014 // “Reinsurance rates began to fall last year,” said Willis Re’s Chairman James Vickers in a telephone interview. The January renewals “saw more reductions, and this has continued in...
2013 Floods Prove Positive Results from Defense Measures: Munich Re
Apr 1 2014 // A study from Munich Re notes that although natural catastrophe losses in 2013 were dominated by floods, “detailed analyses have shown that protective measures can drastically reduce losses. For example, the June 2013...
States Collaborating on Rules to Address Earthquake Risks of Fracking
Mar 31 2014 // Several U.S. states are banding together to combat the mounting risks of earthquakes tied to the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Regulators from Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio met for...
Disaster Preparedness Focus of Oklahoma City Store
Mar 28 2014 // Scott Harper’s hobby is insurance, but not the kind that protects your home, car or health. His insurance is emergency preparedness. And he’s found an opportunity to help other Oklahomans in the metro area get...
Northern California Sees Tornadoes Touch Down
Mar 28 2014 // Several tornadoes touched down during storms in Northern California, including one twister near Sacramento that damaged a dozen homes and left a path of debris about 300 yards long. The National Weather Service says a...
The Importance of Risk Scores in By-Peril Rating
Mar 27 2014 // This blog post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Natural disasters can happen anywhere and at any time, but they often show allegiance to a particular location and geography. Hurricanes hit most frequently along...
308 Disaster Events; $140 Billion Economic Losses in 2013: Swiss Re Report
Mar 26 2014 // Swiss Re’s latest sigma report highlights the 308 disaster events in 2013, of which 150 were natural catastrophes and 158 man-made. Almost 26 000 people lost their lives or went missing in the disasters. The biggest...
PERILS Latest Loss Estimates: Windstorm Tini $338 Million; Dirk $486 Million
Mar 26 2014 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, announced that its initial loss estimate for Windstorm Tini, also known as Darwin, which affected Ireland and the United...
Michigan Drivers’ Catastrophic Claims Fee to Remain $186
Mar 24 2014 // An agency that charges Michigan drivers for the cost of caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes says the fee they pay will remain unchanged at $186 per year. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association...
Future Tsunamis Planned for by Handful of California Harbors
Mar 24 2014 // Five California harbors are preparing for future tsunamis under a new state project that arms them with maps that identify potential problem areas. Officials with the California Geological Survey said Friday the...
Wildfire Bill Again Delayed In Colorado Legislature
Mar 24 2014 // The Colorado Legislature has once again delayed a vote on a bill aimed at preventing agricultural fires from starting wildfires. The move on Friday came after its sponsor said he wanted to kill the proposal because farmers...
New Mississippi Law to Set Uniform Rules for Hurricane Deductibles
Mar 24 2014 // Mississippians will see uniform rules about when hurricane deductibles apply to their homeowners insurance under a law Gov. Phil Bryant signed last week. House Bill 756, sponsored by Biloxi Republican Scott DeLano,...
University of Nevada Earthquake Lab Now World’s 2nd Biggest
Mar 24 2014 // There’s a whole lot of shakin’ going on at the University of Nevada, Reno. UNR’s seismic-simulation facility became the largest in the United States and second largest in the world in March with an...
Ten Things to Know about High Risk Property
Mar 24 2014 // Winter storms caused $2 billion in insured losses in 2013, up dramatically from $38 million in 2012, according to reports from Munich Re. From 1993 to 2012, winter storms resulted in about $28 billion in insured...
Haigood Appointed to Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board
Mar 20 2014 // Texas Commissioner of Insurance Julia Rathgeber appointed Lyndell Haigood to serve on the board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) for a term to expire in March 2015. The board oversees all...
