Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
For Some in Florida, Hurricane Season Is Time to Party
May 14 2009 // When a hurricane approaches South Florida, Robin Sing-Cunningham makes sure she has plenty of ice, candles and a generator. Then there’s the gas-powered blender, storm-themed music (think ‘It’s Raining...
U.S. Hurricane Center Applying Storm Surge, Other Lessons Learned
May 14 2009 // Tropical storms are unpredictable, but as the National Hurricane Center’s director contemplates ways to improve forecasting errors and communicating with the public, he is confident he has an ally at the Federal...
Arizona Wildfire Budgets About the Same as Last Year
May 13 2009 // Not much may seem recession-proof these days, but budgets for preventing and fighting wildfires nationally and in Arizona have stayed largely the same for the past five years. That much is good news for firefighting...
Forecasting Hurricane Intensity Still a Puzzle
May 13 2009 // People living in hurricane danger zones could have a long wait — as much as 10 years — for improved forecasts of rapid intensity changes in a hurricane, the top U.S. hurricane forecaster said Tuesday. In the...
Safety Measure May Have Sparked SoCal Wildfire
May 12 2009 // A wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes is 70 percent contained and firefighters are mopping up hot spots. Fire officials released updated figures, saying the 13-square-mile blaze had destroyed 77 homes, damaged 22...
AIU Offers Hurricane Resources in 2 South Carolina Counties
May 12 2009 // Homeowners in the South Carolina counties of Charleston and Beaufort who purchase homeowners policies from AIU Holdings’ Private Client Group can now access the advanced disaster preparedness and post-hurricane...
New Jersey Senate Tackles Two More Insurance Bills
May 8 2009 // The New Jersey Senate’s Commerce Committee is in the midst of vetting two key bills that would have significant impact on the Garden State’s insurance industry. One bill would create a create a financial...
Santa Barbara Wildfire Increase 448%, Insurers Ready for Calls
May 8 2009 // A wildfire that began on May 5 in Santa Barbara County, Calif., continues to burn, increasing 448 percent from 500 acres burned yesterday to 2,739 acres burned and at least 20 homes destroyed as of this morning, according...
Chubb Helps to Protect Homes from Santa Barbara Wildfire
May 8 2009 // As the wildfire in Santa Barbara, CA, expands in scope and intensity, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has stepped up measures to help protect its homeowners insurance customers’ properties. Earlier this week,...
RMS Performs Risk Analysis for Ibis Re Hurricane Cat Bond
May 7 2009 // Risk Management Solutions has completed the expert modeling analysis in connection with the securities offering undertaken by Ibis Re Ltd., a special purpose reinsurance company domiciled in the Cayman Islands. “The...
Named Storm Deductible Bill Passes Louisiana House
May 7 2009 // Two bills of interest to the insurance industry are making their way through the Louisiana legislative session, which convened April 27. House Bill 333, by Rep. Kleckley, which places limitations on named-storm, hurricane,...
Report Warns of Gaps in Louisiana Emergency Plans, Officials Skeptical
May 7 2009 // Hurricane season is just weeks away, but many south Louisiana parishes cannot show their disaster plans cover evacuation of at-risk populations such as the disabled, the homeless and the elderly, according to the Disaster...
Improved Credit Markets Could Aid Shaky Florida Hurricane Fund
May 4 2009 // The Florida Cabinet received a bit of encouraging news recently about the state’s tenuous hurricane catastrophe fund when the head of Florida’s investments told them a loosening credit market provides the...
2009 California, Washington Wildfire Activity Predicted To Be Above Normal
May 4 2009 // Northern California, where nearly a million acres burned last summer, is poised to possibly be another hotspot for wildfire activity in 2009, according to the Fire Season Outlook released by the Predictive Services group...
Texas Senate Approves Windstorm Bill
May 4 2009 // The Texas Senate approved a new structure for the state’s depleted windstorm insurance fund last week, providing a combination of potential rate hikes, bonding and other revenue to ensure the account gets...
Forecaster WSI Reduces 2009 Season Hurricane Count to Six
May 4 2009 // The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will produce 11 tropical storms, of which six will become hurricanes, WSI Corp predicts. The Andover, Massachusetts, private forecaster reduced its forecast from the one it issued in...
La. House Panel OKs Homeowners Insurance Deductible Restriction
Apr 30 2009 // Insurance companies should be restricted in their use of so-called “named storm” deductibles in Louisiana, even though the change will probably trigger a rate increase for homeowners, a House committee voted on...
UMass Engineers Deploy Special Radar to Midwest’s ‘Tornado Alley’
Apr 29 2009 // As part of the largest, most ambitious attempt ever launched to figure out how tornadoes form and how to predict them more accurately, engineers from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst this week are readying two...
Gulf States Prepare Together for Hurricane Season
Apr 29 2009 // Officials from three states of the Gulf Coast are meeting this week to discuss preparations for hurricane season. The 2009 Gulf States Hurricane Conference is being held Wednesday through Friday at the Coast Coliseum and...
Insurance Claims from South Carolina Wildfire to Top $25 Million
Apr 29 2009 // Insurance companies expect claims from a South Carolina wildfire that has destroyed more than 70 homes near the coast to top $25 million. Allison Dean Love with the South Carolina Insurance News Service said the $25...
