Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Windstorm Insurance Proposed Rate Hike Rejected
Oct 21 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance has rejected a request from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for a 10 percent rate increase for both residential and commercial risks. However, regulators left open the...
Tropical Storm Rick Weakens as it Approaches Baja California
Oct 20 2009 // The National Hurricane Center in Miami reports that Tropical Storm Rick is weakening slightly as it continues to move in an easterly direction towards the Baja California Peninsula. However, the Mexican government has...
Third Typhoon Threatens Philippines
Oct 19 2009 // The Philippines, already devastated by deadly floods from two recent tropical cyclones, is bracing for yet a third storm, as typhoon Lupit approaches the island chain. The most recent bulletin from catastrophe modeler Risk...
Mississippi Court Rules Home Policy Covers Hurricane Wind Damage
Oct 19 2009 // In a 9-0 decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that so-called “all-risk home insurance policies may cover wind damage from hurricanes, even in situations where the loss is later exacerbated by water from...
California Jury Orders First-Ever Wildfire Environmental Damages
Oct 19 2009 // A Los Angeles jury recently ordered two construction companies to reimburse the government for $36.5 million in damages from a 2002 wildfire, in the largest such award and the first-ever damages for environmental harm,...
California Wildfires Raise Landslide Risk
Oct 19 2009 // Rainstorms could send huge flows of water laden with mud, rocks and other debris toward cities below steep slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains stripped bare by a wildfire near Los Angeles this summer, according to federal...
Strong Earthquakes Abroad Could Weaken Geologic Faults in U.S.
Oct 19 2009 // Powerful earthquakes may be a trigger for weakening geologic faults a half a world away, U.S. researchers said this week in a study that points to new ways to predict earthquakes. “Earthquakes are caused when a fault...
FEMA Grant to Help Build Tornado Shelters in Oklahoma
Oct 16 2009 // Residents of a southern Oklahoma town that was devastated by a deadly tornado are getting help to build storm shelters in their homes. Lone Grove City Manager Marianne Elfert says half of a $600,000 Federal Emergency...
Insurers Happy About Quiet Atlantic Hurricane Season
Oct 14 2009 // Thanks to El Nino, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season has been the quietest in more than a decade, offering a reprieve for residents in the danger zone and a chance for insurance firms to refill depleted coffers. With the...
California Braces for Fake Quake
Oct 14 2009 // Tomorrow at exactly 10:15 a.m. almost 7 million Californians are expected to drop to the ground, cover their heads, and hold on for dear life. This curious behavior is part of an event called the Great California Shakeout,...
Tropical Storm Patricia Nears Mexico
Oct 14 2009 // Officials closed schools and readied emergency shelters as Tropical Storm Patricia neared Mexico’s Los Cabos resorts on Tuesday. The storm had winds of near 60 mph (95 kph) and slight strengthening was possible,...
Cat Bond Market Set for Active Fourth Quarter, Reports Guy Carpenter
Oct 13 2009 // The catastrophe bond market is poised for an active fourth quarter in 2009, according to a new report. The report by Guy Carpenter & Co., LLC, and GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities Corp. concludes that a...
Mississippi Court Rules Home Insurance Policy Covers Hurricane Wind Damage
Oct 9 2009 // In a 9-0 decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that so-called “all-risk” home insurance policies may cover wind damage from hurricanes, even in situations where the loss is later exacerbated by...
California Wildfires Raise Landslide Risk
Oct 8 2009 // Rainstorms could send huge flows of water laden with mud, rocks and other debris toward cities below steep slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains stripped bare by a wildfire near Los Angeles this summer, federal scientists...
Typhoon Melor Strikes Southern Japan; 2 Dead; 40 Injured
Oct 8 2009 // Typhoon Melor made landfall on the south coast of Japan, approximately 25 miles (40 kms) from Hamamatsu on Wednesday. According to a preliminary analysis from Risk Management Solutions, “available meteorological data...
Typhoon Heads to Japan, Storm Stalls Over Philippines
Oct 6 2009 // Tropical storm Parma stalled for two days off northwestern Philippines, was slowly heading toward the country’s tobacco-producing region on Tuesday, after killing at least 22 people. Right behind it is Typhoon Melor,...
Indonesia Halts Search for Earthquake Survivors; Focus Turns to Relief Efforts
Oct 6 2009 // Rescue workers called off the search Monday for life under the rubble left by a massive earthquake, focusing instead on bringing aid to survivors in the towns and hills of western Indonesia, despite being hampered by...
South Carolina Still Looking for Lessons from Myrtle Beach Wildfire
Oct 5 2009 // The fire chief in one of South Carolina’s busiest tourist spots said he won’t alter his agency’s practices even though his crews failed to extinguish a small blaze that mushroomed into the worst wildfire...
What to Expect If Hurricane Hugo Hit South Carolina Today
Oct 5 2009 // Hurricane Hugo was the most costly hurricane ever to hit the United States when it made landfall in South Carolina in 1989, causing $4.2 billion in insured damage. Since then, the total insured property along South...
Hurricane Losses Color Florida’s Deficit
Oct 5 2009 // A Florida House-Senate budget panel has added the state’s risk of incurring billions of dollars in possible hurricane insurance losses to Florida’s long-range financial outlook. The new changes could dwarf...
