Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region: AIR Analysis
May 21 2012 // AIR Worldwide has released its preliminary analysis of the earthquake which struck the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy in the early hours on Sunday, May 20. The US Geological Survey issued a “moment magnitude...
Weather Channel’s Knabb Named Chief of National Hurricane Center
May 21 2012 // Richard Knabb, the tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, will be the next chief of the U.S. government’s hurricane forecasting hub in Florida, federal officials said Friday. The promotion to director of the...
Records: Joplin Twister Was Costliest Since 1950
May 21 2012 // The cost of 30 manhole covers that got sucked away: $5,800. A new concession stand at the destroyed high school: $228,600. Shelter and care for more than 1,300 homeless pets: $372,000. The tornado that tore through Joplin...
Joplin, Missouri: One Year Later
May 21 2012 // After the Tornado, Town Looked Like a War Zone, Adjusters Say “One of the eeriest things was … the lack of noise. There were no birds. There was no sound. There was no vegetation. There was nothing. There were...
Q1 Earnings: AIG, Liberty Mutual Profits Soar
May 21 2012 // AIG Profit More Than Doubles American International Group Inc. reported $3.21 billion net income for its 2012 first quarter, a 147 percent increase from $1.30 billion net income posted during the same period one year...
Let the Games Begin
May 21 2012 // Insurance Coverage for the 2012 Olympic Games Is a Herculean Task Before the 2012 Olympic Games open in London on July 27, the city will already have experienced an unprecedented round of preparations, notably the...
Major League Baseball to Help Tornado Victims
May 21 2012 // Major League Baseball and a charitable foundation run by players are working with Habitat for Humanity to build five homes in Joplin, Mo. State Farm Insurance Co. is providing more than half of the funding. Crews will work...
A Year after Joplin Tornadoes, $2.16B in Insurance Claims Paid
May 18 2012 // The tornado that swept through Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, has generated $2.16 billion in insurance claims payouts to Missouri policyholders, according to an Insurance Information Institute analysis of data from...
Forecasters Examine Hurricane Andrew’s Legacy
May 18 2012 // The ability to predict how bad a storm will be has eluded forecasters since Hurricane Andrew made a catastrophic landfall in South Florida two decades ago and it will remain a challenge for the next chief at the National...
Hurricane Andrew Remembered at Storm Conference
May 17 2012 // Florida’s emergency managers are preparing for the upcoming tropical storm season by reexamining the lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew. This August will mark the 20th anniversary of Andrew’s catastrophic...
PERILS Q1 Report on European Windstorms Shows ‘Very Active Season’
May 17 2012 // PERILS, the Swiss-based insurance data provider, reports that “in contrast to an unusually quiet European windstorm season in 2010/11, the 2011/12 season was very active.” PERILS said it had “investigated...
Tsunami May Have Sent Floats To Washington
May 16 2012 // More than two dozen floats – many with Asian writing and logos – found May 5 on Dungeness Spit during the first beach cleanup of the season. The floats are apparently part of the debris from the March 2011 Japanese...
Texas Windstorm Alternative Eligibility Program Deadline: Aug. 31
May 15 2012 // The Texas Department of Insurance is currently developing a process for obtaining an Alternative Certification for obtaining windstorm insurance in coastal areas. Under the Alternative Eligibility Program, residential...
Arizona Wildfires Grow, Evacuations Underway
May 14 2012 // Fire crews battled several wildfires in Arizona over the weekend, including a 4 1/2-square-mile blaze in the northern part of the state that prompted evacuations in a historic mining community. A fire about 4 miles north...
Claims Valued At $35M Filed Over Reno Wildfires
May 14 2012 // About 1,100 claims valued at $35 million have been filed as a result of two major wildfires around Reno in recent months, according to insurance carrier reports. The Nov. 18 Caughlin Ranch Fire burned nearly 1,900 acres...
Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits: Panel
May 14 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel last Thursday concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover...
Major League Baseball to Help Tornado Victims
May 11 2012 // Major League Baseball and a charitable foundation run by players announced they are working with Habitat for Humanity to build nine homes for the tornado-ravaged communities of Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., with more...
Virginia Hurricane-Prep Sales Tax Break Starts May 25
May 10 2012 // Virginians who want to stock up on batteries, bottled water and other supplies for the hurricane season will get a tax break this month. Starting May 25 and continuing for seven days, a sales tax holiday will spare them...
Florida Approves Hurricane Shelter Plan
May 10 2012 // The construction of new public schools across Florida has contributed to a significant increase in the number of hurricane shelter spaces, according to a plan approved this week by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida...
Colorado Wildfire Compensation Compromise Moving Along
May 9 2012 // A compromise proposal to allow Colorado wildfire victims to seek state compensation in excess of liability limits remains on track for approval in the Legislature. A Senate committee voted 5-0 Monday in favor of a bill to...
