Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Minor Earthquake Near Yakutat
Nov 29 2011 // The Alaska Earthquake Information Center says there was a minor earthquake near Yakutat. The earthquake occurred Saturday at 5:21 p.m. and was centered 43 miles north of Yakutat, a coastal town on the Gulf of Alaska. It...
Judge Orders Georgia Tornado-Damaged Hotel Demolished
Nov 29 2011 // A city judge in the northwest Georgia town of Ringgold has ordered a tornado-ravaged hotel to be torn down. Judge Gene Lowery said in a hearing last week that the Baymont Inn & Suites is an eyesore and must be...
Active 2011 Hurricane Season Breaks ‘Hurricane Amnesia’
Nov 29 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Wednesday, having produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. This level of activity matched predictions by...
80% of Claims from May Tornado in Minneapolis Have Been Resolved
Nov 28 2011 // The Minnesota Department of Commerce has reported that insurance companies have resolved about 80 percent of the claims generated after a tornado swept through north Minneapolis in May. The agency said that policyholders...
More Earthquakes Recorded in Oklahoma; Gov. Requests Disaster Assistance
Nov 28 2011 // At least five small earthquakes were recorded in central Oklahoma over the long Thanksgiving weekend. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 2.4 magnitude tremor was recorded at 6:55 a.m. on Nov. 26 about five miles south of...
Insured Loss Estimate from Hurricane Irene Rises to $4.3 Billion
Nov 28 2011 // An insurance industry service that tracks catastrophe losses has sharply raised its estimates for August’s Hurricane Irene, projecting insured property damage of $4.3 billion from the first hurricane to hit the...
Report Links Wildfires to Immigrants in Arizona
Nov 23 2011 // A study by Congress’ investigative arm shows investigators have linked 30 fires that erupted in a five-year period in Arizona’s border region to people who crossed into the United States illegally — a...
Midlands Management Enhances Earthquake Coverage in Oklahoma
Nov 23 2011 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak announced that an Oklahoma general insurance agency is adding earthquake deductible buy-down insurance as a means of making the cost of recovering from earthquake damage more...
Tornado Recovery Efforts Ongoing in Oklahoma’s McClain County
Nov 22 2011 // An amputee needed a new wheelchair ramp to get into his tornado-damaged home. Some of his neighbors have moved into trailers, or remained in their damaged houses where they sleep on screened-in porches. Others have had no...
Small Oklahoma Quake Reinforces Need for Repsonse, Preparedness Training
Nov 22 2011 // A small earthquake was recorded in central Oklahoma on Nov. 21 — on a day that executives from the California Earthquake Authority met with officials from the Oklahoma Insurance Department to discuss earthquake response...
Post Tornado, Joplin, Missouri, Rebuilding Permits Setting Records
Nov 22 2011 // Joplin, Mo., is building at a record pace after the town was devastated by a tornado in May, and city officials said they expect the activity to continue into next year. The city has issued an average of $35.4 million in...
Officials Say Western New York Tornadoes Cost $760K
Nov 22 2011 // The Chautauqua County Office of Emergency Services says tornadoes that touched down in three western New York communities a week ago caused $760,300 in property damage. The tornadoes touched down in the village of Fredonia...
Georgia to Get Earthquake Monitors
Nov 22 2011 // Researchers in a nationwide study of earthquakes will soon place instruments beneath the Georgia red clay and in other eastern states as they seek to learn more about what causes them and where they might...
Catastrophe Property Market Under Pressure: NAPCO
Nov 21 2011 // The catastrophe property market seems to be moving away from soft market pricing conditions, but weak insurance demand and too much capacity is limiting insurers’ pricing power, a new report says. “The industry...
Agents say Arkansas Earthquake Insurance Sales Up
Nov 21 2011 // Insurance agents say the recent 5.6 magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma has led many Arkansans to add earthquake insurance to their homeowner policies. The Nov. 5 quake east of Oklahoma City left damage over a wide area and...
Kansas Earthquake Risk Rated Low
Nov 21 2011 // Tornadoes, Flooding Are Top Hazards When it comes to the threat of damage and chaos from disasters in Kansas, earthquakes rank nearly at the bottom of the state’s list of concerns. Earthquakes rank 21st out of 22...
Few Earthquake Insurance Policies Sold in Oklahoma
Nov 21 2011 // Moratoriums on New Coverage in Effect About $6.7 million in earthquake insurance is written annually in Oklahoma, according to state insurance regulators. Only about 1 percent of homeowners carry earthquake insurance and...
Nevada Declares Emergency Over Wildfire
Nov 18 2011 // Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Friday declared a state of emergency associated with the Caughlin Ranch fire, which has so far reportedly destroyed 20 structures, forced 9,500 people from their homes and was blamed for the...
$2.5M in Earthquake Aid Approved for Louisa County, Virginia
Nov 18 2011 // More than $2.5 million in grants have been approved this month for Louisa County homeowners hit by a powerful Aug. 23 earthquake and its aftershocks. Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinating officer Donald Keldsen...
Mass. AG Wants to Put Brakes on ‘Excessive’ Homeowners Insurance Rate
Nov 18 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is urging the State Rating Board to hold a hearing to scrutinize the data insurers use to set homeowners insurance rates in her state. The Attorney General’s office says...
