Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
East Coast Earthquake: Fear, Damage Mixed with Relief, Teasing
Aug 26 2011 // For a few minutes from Georgia to Maine, the question rang out: What was that? The answer — a rare East Coast earthquake, magnitude 5.8 — was far down on the list for most not used to the earth shaking beneath them. In...
Insurance to Pay Part of Joplin Schools’ $30M Tornado Cost
Aug 25 2011 // The Joplin School Board has begun paying the massive bills caused by destruction from the May 22 tornado. The school board approved payment of nearly $30 million for the month of July and about half of August. The...
Colorado Jostled with Earthquake Aftershocks
Aug 25 2011 // Colorado has been jostled with 13 aftershocks after Monday night’s magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck just hours before a magnitude-5.8 temblor hit Virginia, earthquake monitors said Wednesday. Geophysicist Amy Vaughan...
How to Reduce Roof Leak Damage Caused by Hurricanes
Aug 25 2011 // Wind-driven water like that occurring during Hurricane Irene penetrates openings in residential roofs but roof deck seams can be sealed to reduce any damage, according to tests by an insurance home safety institute. The...
Hurricane Irene a Test for North Carolina Island Evacuation Plan
Aug 25 2011 // With Hurricane Irene approaching, evacuations began on a tiny barrier island off North Carolina early Wednesday in what would be a test of whether people in the crosshairs of what could be the first major storm in years...
Earthquake Insurance Premiums by State
Aug 25 2011 // An East Coast earthquake? Suffering damage from a seismic shift isn’t a risk many homeowners outside of California worry about. Most standard homeowners, renters and business insurance policies do not cover damage...
Is It Time to Consider Earthquake Insurance?
Aug 25 2011 // Earthquakes and California go together. Or at least that’s what most of the country thought until Tuesday’s East Coast earthquake centered in Virginia. Reports of the earth moving were widespread, coming from...
Hurricane Irene Batters Bahamas, Threatens Carolinas, Northeast
Aug 25 2011 // Hurricane Irene washed away homes in the Bahamas Thursday as its battering winds and rain headed toward the U.S. eastern seaboard including densely populated New York and New England. U.S. emergency officials have urged...
Threat of Irene Exposes New York’s Vulnerability
Aug 25 2011 // In the annals of natural disasters, it doesn’t get much worse than a major hurricane directly striking New York City and Long Island. Hurricane Irene is on a course that will take it up the East Coast from the...
Earthquake Hits Rural Colorado, Too
Aug 24 2011 // Virginia’s earthquake isn’t the only notable temblor to hit the United States this week. On Monday the largest earthquake to strike Colorado in almost 40 years shook hundreds of people in the southern part of...
North, South Carolina Coastal Insurance Plans Ready for Hurricane Irene
Aug 24 2011 // Caught square in the path of Irene, the first major hurricane of the season, the coastal insurance plans in North and South Carolina are prepared to absorb what may be their first major losses in years. Both plans appear...
Earthquake Tested Safety of East Coast’s Nuclear Plants
Aug 24 2011 // The largest earthquake to hit the East Coast of the United States in 67 years raised concerns on Tuesday about the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants. The 5.8 magnitude quake’s epicenter was just a...
East Coast’s Once-a-Century Earthquake Causes Minor Damage
Aug 24 2011 // A strong earthquake rattled the U.S. East Coast Tuesday, sending tremors as far as Canada, damaging well-known buildings in the nation’s capital and sending scared office workers into the streets. There were no...
IIABNY Issues Timely Warning on Earthquake Insurance Coverage
Aug 24 2011 // The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York has issued a timely warning in the wake of the earthquake that struck the east coast yesterday afternoon, which affected many New York residents. The IIABNY...
Recap of Forecasts for 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Aug 24 2011 // Private forecaster Weather Services International (WSI) Tuesday increased to 18 from 15 the number of named storms it predicted for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season. WSI said it still predicted 8 hurricanes, four of...
East Coast Earthquake Losses Less Than $100 Million: Eqecat
Aug 23 2011 // The earthquake that struck Virginia and rattled the Eastern United States Tuesday caused less than $100 million in insured losses, catastrophe modeling company Eqecat said. Eqecat said the relatively weak nature of the...
Entire East Coast Placed on Hurricane Alert
Aug 23 2011 // The United States put its eastern seaboard on alert for Hurricane Irene Tuesday, as the powerful storm barreled up from the Caribbean on a path that could hit the U.S. coast on the weekend. Even as the first hurricane of...
Earthquake Rattles East Coast; No Deaths or Major Damage Reported
Aug 23 2011 // A strong earthquake struck the U.S. East Coast and was felt as far away as Canada on Tuesday, shaking buildings in many cities, delaying flights and trains and sending thousands of frightened workers into the...
Hurricane Irene Seen Skirting Florida, Possibly Landing in Carolinas
Aug 23 2011 // Hurricane Irene was expected to strengthen over the next few days and could hit the southeastern United States as a large and powerful storm late in the week, forecasters said Tuesday. The U.S. National Hurricane...
Hurricanes May Be Catalyst for Insurance Rate Increases
Aug 23 2011 // Hurricane Irene, threatening to become the first hurricane to hit the United States in three years, could be the catalyst the insurance industry has been seeking in its quest for across-the-board premium increases after...
