Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
North Texas Has Another Minor Earthquake
Jun 27 2012 // Texas has had another minor earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 2.6 magnitude quake happened around 4 a.m. on June 26 in North Texas. Experts say the quake was centered about 1 mile south of Alvarado. The area is...
P/C Insurers Profits Rose to $10.1B in Q1
Jun 27 2012 // Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes rose to $10.1 billion in first-quarter 2012 from $7.8 billion in first-quarter 2011, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured by their...
UK’s MI5 Chief Talks about Threats before Olympic Games
Jun 27 2012 // Britain has seen a credible terrorist attack plot about once a year since the Sept.11 attacks – a worrying pattern as security officials brace for an array of threats ahead of next month’s summer Olympics, the...
Tropical Storm Debby Makes Landfall in Florida Near Steinhatchee
Jun 26 2012 // Tropical Storm Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It is the first tropical storm of 2012 to form in the Gulf of Mexico. “Debby is expected to weaken to...
Monsoons Bring Hope, Caution to Wildfire Stricken Western States
Jun 26 2012 // Monsoons are about the only thing right now that could bring much needed relief to wildfire-plagued Western states like Colorado and New Mexico, which are both on track to have fire seasons on a historic level – although...
Tropical Storm Debby Tracking Slowly Towards Florida’s West Coast: AIR
Jun 26 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, as of 8 a.m. today, Tropical Storm Debby was still a weak tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, but it was drenching northern Florida and parts of...
FEMA to Floridians, Visitors: ‘Take Debby Seriously’
Jun 26 2012 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal partners said they continue to monitor and work closely with states potentially affected by Tropical Storm Debby, including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi,...
RMS Update on Tropical Storm Debby in Florida
Jun 26 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS) issued the following update on Tropical Storm Debby this morning, Tuesday, June 26: Over the last 24 hours, Tropical Storm Debby (located over the northeast Gulf of...
P/C Industry Should Not Expect Traditional Hard Market Soon: Hartwig
Jun 26 2012 // Although insurance rates have been drifting upward in recent months, the property/casualty industry is unlikely to see a return to the traditional hard market this year or next, an insurance expert told reinsurance...
Tropical Storm Debby Drenches Florida
Jun 26 2012 // Tropical Storm Debby whipped Florida with bands of drenching rain Monday while its center was nearly stationary in the Gulf of Mexico. Its slow progress meant the most pressing threat from the storm was flooding, not...
Trade Group: 70K Vehicles Damaged in Dallas Area Hailstorm
Jun 25 2012 // Approximately 70,000 vehicles were damaged in the June 13 hailstorm in the Dallas, Texas, area and car rental companies are feeling the pinch, according to an insurance industry trade group. Car rental companies are...
AIR Worldwide Comments on Tropical Storm Debby
Jun 25 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide issued the following advisory on Tropical Storm Debby this morning: According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Tropical Storm Debby is the fourth named storm of the 2012...
RMS Comments on Tropical Storm Debby
Jun 25 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS) issued the following advisory on Tropical Storm Debby this morning: Tropical storm winds and heavy rain are affecting the northeast Gulf States as Tropical Storm...
New Colo. Wildfire Forces Thousands of Evacuations
Jun 25 2012 // A wildfire near Colorado Springs grew to more than 6 square miles on Sunday after erupting just a day earlier and forcing evacuation for 11,000 residents, according to newspaper reports. Colorado is having its worst...
Lloyd’s Details ‘Growing Impact of Climate Change’ as UN Meets
Jun 25 2012 // Lloyd’s has published a roundup of the environmental issues inherent in as the world grows warmer. The recently concluded Rio +20 Conference was an attempt – 20 years after the first conference – “to try to...
Tropical Storm Debby Heads for Florida Coast, Spares Louisiana
Jun 24 2012 // Tropical Storm Debby meandered slowly to the Florida coast on Sunday, bringing strong winds and waves that forced the closure of about a quarter of offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and spawning...
Campgrounds Reopen After Michigan Upper Peninsula Wildfire
Jun 22 2012 // Officials say several state forest campgrounds in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that were closed during a recent wildfire are completely or partially reopened. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that...
South Carolina House Overrides Veto of Insurance Tax Earmark for Wildfires
Jun 22 2012 // The South Carolina House this week overrode Gov. Nikki Haley’s veto of a bill that would provide an agency with new, safer equipment to fight wildfires. Meanwhile, the House upheld her veto of a measure meant to help...
Chris Becomes First Hurricane of Season – No Threat to Land
Jun 21 2012 // The most recent bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami confirms that tropical storm Chris has strengthened into a “category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale,” the first of...
NOAA In Midst Of Tsunami Debris Survey
Jun 20 2012 // Government scientists are in the midst of a 10-day trip, surveying southeast Alaska beaches for debris from last year’s deadly tsunami in Japan. While there have been several high-profile instances of debris from the...
