Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute to Host Conference on Terrorism
Aug 31 2009 // The UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute announced that its London Market faculty will hold a second “Counter Terrorist Workshop” in conjunction with the City of London Police on November 10. The CII said...
California Wildfires Threaten Thousands of Homes
Aug 31 2009 // A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles has surged in every direction, going in a single day from a modest threat to a danger to some 10,000 homes. The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday,...
Progress Celebrated on Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Aug 31 2009 // Gulf Coast officials and residents marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a mix of solemn remembrances and celebrations of how far the region has come in its recovery from the storm’s devastation. In...
UPDATE: Jimena ‘Extremely Dangerous Hurricane’ Says NHC
Aug 31 2009 // As Hurricane Jimena nears the coast of Baja California, Mexico is bracing for the onslaught. The National Hurricane Center in Miami described the storm as “extremely dangerous,” with maximum sustained winds...
Canada’s Insurers Urge Ontario Residents to Check Tornado Coverage
Aug 28 2009 // Canada’s home, car and business insurers have urged residents affected by tornadoes that recently tore through southern Ontario to check their homeowner’s policy and contact their insurance representative as...
Tropical Storm Danny Weakens; East Coast Likely Spared Hurricane
Aug 28 2009 // Tropical Storm Danny weakened in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday and was no longer expected to become a hurricane, but it edged closer to the U.S. coast on a path that could take it to Canada’s Atlantic provinces by...
Golfers Help South Carolina Wildfire Victims Who Lacked Insurance
Aug 28 2009 // Golfers teed off on the South Carolina coast to help the victims of a wildfire that scorched hundreds of acres earlier this year. Thursday’s pro-am at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach was held to...
Multiple Earthquakes Shake Central Oklahoma in 24 Hours
Aug 28 2009 // At least 10 minor earthquakes have shaken central Oklahoma in the past 24 to 36 hours, the most recent occurring early in the morning on Aug. 28, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. This morning’st tremor...
Florida’s Tower Hill Insurance Downgraded by A.M. Best; Tower Hill Responds
Aug 27 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to D (Poor) from B (Fair) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “c” from “bb” of Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Co., Tower Hill Prime...
Lloyd’s Explores Terrorism/Internet Threats
Aug 27 2009 // Politico-social trends are rarely static; they evolve over time. Terrorism is no exception. An article on the Lloyd’s of London web site (www.lloyds.com) notes that “today’s extremists are just as intent...
Tropical Storm Danny, Expected to Become Hurricane, Heads Northeast
Aug 27 2009 // The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Danny was located about 575 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as of 8 a.m. EDT (Noon GMT) Thursday and packing winds near 60 miles per...
RMS Analyzes Greek Wildfires
Aug 26 2009 // A bulletin from Risk Management Solutions notes that over the past 24 hours, the wildfire situation in Athens has greatly improved, but continues to be closely monitored as there is a high risk of further flare-ups. In...
Tropical Storm May Form Today
Aug 26 2009 // The U.S. National Hurricane Center said an area of disturbed weather centered about 470 miles east of Nassau in the Bahamas could become the season’s latest tropical depression, or more likely, tropical storm, later...
Numbers Tell of Reconstruction of Mississippi Since Hurricane Katrina
Aug 26 2009 // August 29 will mark four years since Hurricane Katrina pummeled Mississippi. Since then, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and other state and...
UPDATE – Thousands Flee Raging Wildfires in Greece
Aug 25 2009 // An overnight drop in gale-force winds offered hard-pressed Greek firefighters a brief respite Monday after wildfires raged unchecked for two days north of Athens, burning houses and swathes of forest while forcing...
RMS Reports on Hurricane Bill
Aug 25 2009 // The latest bulletin from Risk Management Solutions describes Hurricane Bill making landfall in southeast Newfoundland as a weak category 1 hurricane. As of a few hours ago the storm was approximately 90 miles (145 kms)...
Atlantic Tropical Wave Could Become Cyclone, Warns U.S. Hurricane Center
Aug 25 2009 // The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday a tropical wave in the western Atlantic Ocean northeast of Puerto Rico had a high chance — greater than 50 percent — of becoming a tropical cyclone during the...
Private Forecaster Still Sees Quiet Hurricane Season
Aug 25 2009 // Private weather forecaster WSI Corp. said on Monday it still sees a quiet 2009 Atlantic hurricane season with conditions not conducive to an active year for violent storms. WSI’s updated forecast predicted a season...
Hurricane Bill Served Warning to North Carolina Island Homeowners
Aug 25 2009 // Although Hurricane Bill made no direct impact on the North Carolina coast, the seas that the storm churned up has caused worries for some homeowners. The Star-News of Wilmington reported Sunday that residents of Bald Head...
California Wildfires Called Contained
Aug 25 2009 // Firefighters have surrounded three wildfires that have been burning throughout California for weeks. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that a wildfire that consumed about 7,800 acres (3,157...
