Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Eastern Arizona Forest Plans For Wildfire Recovery
Apr 17 2012 // An eastern Arizona forest charred by a massive wildlife is seeking comments on a modified plan to salvage burned timber and replant trees. The project is in response to last year’s Wallow Fire that burned more than...
Tornado Outbreak: Authorities Say 5 Dead in Oklahoma, 29 Injuries
Apr 16 2012 // Tornadoes raking communities across the Midwest and Plains left five people dead and at least 29 injured in Oklahoma, damaging a hospital, homes and other buildings as a vast severe weather front plunged eastward on April...
Now Is Time to Learn Lessons from 2011 Catastrophes: Marsh
Apr 16 2012 // Following the exceptionally severe and prolific catastrophes experienced globally in 2011, organizations now have an opportunity to learn lessons from these events and reduce the adverse impact of future incidents on their...
Risk Not Confined to Tornado Alley
Apr 16 2012 // Tornado Alley is typically considered to encompass mainly the Great Plains states and surrounding areas. However an analysis by analytics firm CoreLogic shows that tornado risk actually extends across most of the eastern...
160-Year Old Hanover Retaking Its Place as P/C Industry Leader
Apr 16 2012 // Eight out of 160 years of history may not seem like a big deal but for Hanover Insurance Group, founded in 1852, the last eight years have seen a series of big deals. Eight years ago in 2004, the $2.4 billion heavily...
Tsunami Anniversary a Reminder of Supply Chain Insurance
Apr 16 2012 // The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March last year caused massive supply chain disruptions, exposing the complexity and vulnerability of global corporations. The disaster caused an estimated $35 to...
April in Texas: Tornadoes, High Winds and Hail
Apr 16 2012 // Damages Estimates Climb A line of thunderstorms and isolated super cells that moved into the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area in the early afternoon on April 3, 2012, produced numerous tornadoes and large hail...
CEA and Red Cross Combine Forces to Raise Awareness
Apr 16 2012 // In what those involved say may bring about many more such pairings, the California Earthquake Authority and the American Red Cross have joined forces to try to boost preparedness and recovery when California’s next...
Irene Retired from Tropical Storm Name List
Apr 15 2012 // Irene is being retired from the list of storm names because the 2011 hurricane killed 49 people and caused more than $15 billion in damage. A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the name...
Meteorologist: Tornado Near Stockton, Calif. Not Unusual
Apr 13 2012 // The National Weather Service says the tornado that struck five miles outside of Stockton, Calif. on Wednesday was not unusual for this time of year. The twister on farmland near Interstate 5 left a path of damage about a...
Warm Weather, Dry Conditions Could Mean More Wildfires in Northeast
Apr 12 2012 // Northeastern states are not known for frequent wildfires and brushfires. But that could be changing this spring as the region faces record-high temperatures and unusually dry conditions. “With more than 15,000...
Virginia Wildfires Burn More Than 7,000 Acres
Apr 12 2012 // Parts of Interstate 64 and three other roads remain closed because of wildfires that have burned more than 7,000 acres in Virginia. The National Forest Service says five large fires are burning in Alleghany, Craig, Page...
Tsunami Watch Cancelled; AIR Worldwide Analyzes Quake Risk
Apr 12 2012 // Yesterday the world held its breath, as two strong earthquakes within hours of each other shook the Indian Ocean sea bed, not far from the epicenter of the quake in 2004, which generated a tsunami that took over a quarter...
Two Strong Quakes near Sumatra Trigger Tsunami Alert
Apr 11 2012 // Two strong earthquakes in the Indian Ocean, located off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, have triggered tsunami warnings across the region. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported the first quake at...
Platinum estimates $24.8 Million Q1 2012 Losses from Catastrophes
Apr 11 2012 // Bermuda-based Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. announced that it expects major catastrophe losses will have a net negative impact of approximately $24.8 million on the Company’s results for the quarter ended...
Best Lowers, Withdraws Omega Specialty Ratings; Affirms Lloyd’s Syndicate 958
Apr 11 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Ltd. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 958, which is managed...
Severe Weather Has Home Insurers Rethinking Coverages
Apr 10 2012 // As weather disasters strike with more frequency, U.S. homeowners first get hit with the destruction or total loss of property. Many are then hit with the unexpected loss of homeowners insurance policies as insurance...
Bond Passage to Fund More Storm Shelters in Joplin, Missouri
Apr 10 2012 // When Joplin, Mo., residents approved a $62 million bond issue recently, they agreed to fund more than just new schools. The bond issue and about $122 million from insurance, donations and state and federal aid will also...
Property Insurance Rates Continue to Firm: Marsh
Apr 10 2012 // Global property insurance rates continued to firm in the first quarter of 2012 and there are forces at play that will likely continue the trend, according to a report from insurance broker Marsh. Despite the absence of...
March’s Severe Weather Proved Deadly, Costly in U.S., Globally
Apr 6 2012 // March was a deadly and costly month in parts of the United States. A significant severe weather outbreak affected parts of the U.S. Midwest, the Tennessee Valley and the Southeast during the first week of March, killing at...
