Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Damage Assessment Begins After Twin Tornadoes Flatten Nebraska Town, Kill 2
Jun 18 2014 // A storm packing rare dual tornadoes tore through a tiny farming town in northeast Nebraska, killing two people, crumpling grain bins like discarded soda cans and flattening dozens of homes. Pilger’s 350 residents...
Wildfire Threatens Homes in New Mexico
Jun 18 2014 // Firefighters are bracing for another day of hot, dry and windy conditions as they battle a fast-moving wildfire in New Mexico. The Assayii Lake Fire blackened more than 19 square miles in less than two days while making...
Aon Benfield Securities Launches CATstream for Cedants’ Cat Bond Coverage
Jun 18 2014 // Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield, has announced the launch of CATstream – a new client facility, which it said “offers...
Connecticut Launches New Online Tool for Catastrophe Adjuster Registration
Jun 17 2014 // The Connecticut Insurance Department announced Monday the launch of a new online program that would make it easier and quicker for insurance companies to register their emergency adjusters with the state when a damaging...
Repairs Ongoing from Early June Hailstorm in Nebraska
Jun 17 2014 // The severe thunderstorms that spawned large hail and strong winds earlier this month left a lasting mark on many Nebraska communities. Aaron Volkman tells the Norfolk Daily News it will take weeks or even months to repair...
California Wildfire Evacuations Lifted, as Containment Rises
Jun 17 2014 // Evacuation orders were lifted Monday evening after firefighters made significant progress containing 50 percent of a smoky mountain wildfire west of a lake near Bakersfield, officials said. The blaze has destroyed three...
Weather Service Confirms South Carolina Tornado
Jun 17 2014 // The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down for a mile-and-a-half in Orangeburg County earlier this week. The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg said the tornado, with winds of up to 85 mph,...
House Panel Unveils TRIA Extension Bill
Jun 17 2014 // Property/casualty insurers are welcoming the unveiling of a House terrorism insurance bill as a sign of progress even though there are provisions in it they oppose. Introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, chairman of...
Cat Bond Buyers Listening to Storm Forecasters, Not Buffett
Jun 16 2014 // Bond buyers are betting more than ever on the mercy of Mother Nature as they seek to boost yields being suppressed by central banks. Demand for notes linked to insurance against hurricanes and other natural disasters is...
Tornado Confirmed in Central Texas
Jun 16 2014 // Severe weather late on June 12 spawned a Central Texas tornado that damaged several homes and floodwaters that washed away a car and left its driver missing. The National Weather Service says a tornado packing winds of up...
TWIA Financials Improved as Hurricane Season Starts
Jun 16 2014 // Low catastrophe activity and claims experience so far this year have helped to put Texas’ insurer of last resort for properties along the Gulf Coast in a better position to face the 2014 hurricane season than it has...
University of Alabama Researchers Show Small Changes Can Make Big Difference During Tornadoes
Jun 16 2014 // Surviving a tornado in a wood-frame residential home is enhanced by an intact roof and standing walls, but light-weight garage doors can be the weak link to allowing high winds and pressure changes into a home that can...
CEA: Policy Sales Spiked Following California March Temblor
Jun 16 2014 // California Earthquake Authority insurance policy sales jumped following the March 29 magnitude 5.1 La Habra earthquake by nearly as much as the spike in policy sales following the March 11, 2011, magnitude-9.0 Tohoku...
Abilene, Texas, Hammered by Hailstorm
Jun 13 2014 // Up to a dozen people were treated for injuries last night in Abilene, Texas, after a large hailstorm struck the city during a children’s parade and art walk, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. The Taylor County...
Tornado Touchdown Confirmed In Southeast Wyoming
Jun 12 2014 // A tornado touched down in a sparsely populated area of Laramie County in southeast Wyoming on Sunday, the National Weather Service has confirmed. NWS says the tornado touched down around 1 p.m. about 7 miles east of...
Hurricane Forecasts Good News for Already-Stable P/C Insurers: Fitch
Jun 12 2014 // Early forecasts for the 2014 hurricane season indicate that moderate El Nino conditions are likely to persist throughout the year, which could inhibit tropical storm formation in the North Atlantic basin. This could also...
Active Season for West Pacific: AccuWeather 2014 Typhoon Forecast
Jun 12 2014 // The AccuWeather Global Weather Center has issued a forecast for the 2014 West Pacific typhoon season, which anticipates “near-normal numbers.” The forecast also noted, however, that “the onset of El Niño...
Oklahoma Firm: Blanket Provides Protection from Tornado Debris, Bullets
Jun 10 2014 // An Oklahoma company has created a protective blanket that developers say could give children a better chance of surviving debris from a tornado – or bullets from a 9 mm handgun. The Bodyguard Blanket, made by...
Officials: Tornado in Western Iowa Causes Damage in Oakland
Jun 9 2014 // Weather officials say a strong tornado touched down last week in western Iowa’s Pottawattamie County. The National Weather Service says investigators surveying debris concluded an EF-2 tornado landed June 3 about...
Hailstorm Pummels Hundreds of Vehicles in South Dakota
Jun 9 2014 // Sioux Falls, S.D., auto body shops are in for a busy summer after a storm that pelted the metro area with pea- to golf ball-size hail, damaging hundreds of vehicles. No injuries were immediately reported from the afternoon...
