Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hotspot Volcanoes: Earthquake Risk in Hawaii
Sep 9 2013 // It was June 15, 1990, when Mount Pinatubo, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, awoke from its 500-year slumber to produce the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Nearly a year before, Luzon was...
Arkansas Researchers: Hill Climbing Tornadoes More Dangerous
Sep 9 2013 // New research from the University of Arkansas finds that tornadoes cause greater damage when traveling uphill — and that the twisters tend to climb toward higher elevations rather than going downhill. Engineering...
August’s Natural Disasters Caused $10B in Economic Damage: Aon Benfield
Sep 6 2013 // August saw billion-dollar flood losses in China, Russia, Philippines and Pakistan, bringing an initial combined estimate of $10 billion in economic losses, Aon Benfield said in a report on natural disaster...
Reinsurance Terms and Conditions, More Than Price, Could Be Focus in 2014
Sep 6 2013 // Reinsurers may fail to increase rates they charge primary carriers for their backstop coverage when they begin price talks for 2014 in Monte Carlo this week. “I expect the market staying flat to ticking down, on the...
57th Reinsurance Rendez-vous Kicks Off on Saturday; Excess Capital a Concern
Sep 6 2013 // The 57th Reinsurance Rendez-vous, which begins with registration in Monte Carlo on Saturday, promises to be somewhat less stressful than many previous editions. A mass of warm air, combined with significant amounts of dust...
Scientists Defining Cascadia Subduction Zone in Pacific Northwest
Sep 5 2013 // Scientists are just back from a monthlong research cruise in the Pacific Ocean off Washington state, where they were trying to find the stickiest point on a section of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the huge undersea fault...
Tropical Storm Gabrielle Drenches Puerto Rico
Sep 5 2013 // Tropical Storm Gabrielle isn’t expected to gain much strength as it churns in the Caribbean Sea on a path between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Gabrielle was about...
Joplin Rebuilding Since Tornado: About $837M Spent
Sep 4 2013 // About $837 million has been spent on construction in Joplin since the May 2011 tornado, including starts on more than 1,100 new homes, according to city building permit data. The figures include construction done...
Capital Oversupply Could Pressure Reinsurers to Lower Rates
Sep 4 2013 // Munich Re and Swiss Re Ltd. are among reinsurers likely to face further pressure to lower the rates they charge clients as the capital available for backing policies remains near a record high, brokers said. “With...
Gulf, Atlantic Coasts Appear Safe from 3 Tropical Storms
Sep 3 2013 // Three potential tropical systems stretch across the Atlantic from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Africa’s west coast, though none is expected to become a major threat this week, forecasters said. The westernmost...
Aon’s Impact Forecasting Launches Models for E. Africa Quakes, Mexico Floods
Sep 3 2013 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has launched two new models: an earthquake model for East Africa and a new flood scenario-based model for Mexico reinsurers. East...
Hollywood Groups Sue To Stop Huge Development, Earthquake Concerns
Aug 30 2013 // A coalition of residents who live in famed Hollywood neighborhoods filed a lawsuit this week to stop a $654 million skyscraper project from rising just down the hill from the landmark Hollywood Sign because of earthquake...
No Insurer Assessments for TWIA, for Now
Aug 29 2013 // Despite pleas from officials and policyholders in Texas Gulf Coast communities, the board of the state’s insurer of last resort for wind along the coast has decided not to assess its member insurance companies for...
Arkansas Researchers: Hill Climbing Tornadoes More Dangerous
Aug 29 2013 // New research from the University of Arkansas finds that tornadoes cause greater damage when traveling uphill – and that the twisters tend to climb toward higher elevations rather than going downhill. Engineering...
Vermont Gov. Shumlin Issues Final Tropical Storm Irene Report
Aug 29 2013 // Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin released the state’s Tropical Storm Irene recovery status report during a press conference on Wednesday marking the two-year anniversary of the storm.Over 3,500 damaged or destroyed homes...
Regulators Alert Financial Firms to Disaster Risk
Aug 28 2013 // The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a risk alert on business continuity and disaster recovery planning for investment advisers. The SEC risk alert from its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations...
Yosemite May Be Harbinger of California’s Wildfire Potential
Aug 27 2013 // The week-and-a-half-old wildfire in Yosemite is seen by some as a harbinger of what could be a “worst case scenario” when California enters its typical wildfire season in October – continued drought, lots of...
Arkansas Lawsuits Test Fracking Wastewater Link to Quakes
Aug 27 2013 // Tony Davis, a 54-year-old construction worker in central Arkansas, said he welcomed the boom in natural gas drilling that brought jobs and new businesses to his hometown starting about a decade ago. But that was before the...
July Hailstorms in Germany May Cost $2 Billion
Aug 26 2013 // Hailstorms that struck Germany at the end of July may have caused as much as $2 billion in damage, catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide said on its website. Damages from the storms, which pounded northern and southern areas...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Offers Underwriting Basics Online Workshop
Aug 23 2013 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) announced it is now offering its Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Underwriting Basics Workshop online. This course, which is open to insurance agency personnel, has...
