Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Small Earthquake Hits New Hampshire’s Lakes Region
Apr 29 2009 // New Hampshire’s state geologist says a small earthquake recorded in the Lakes Region is the most recent in a long line of seismic activity. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a quake with a Magnitude of 2.1 was...
Myrtle Beach Property Owners Add Wildfire to Hurricane Risk
Apr 28 2009 // They flock from other states and climes to the coast known as the Grand Strand, first as tourists, and later as residents, captivated by ocean views, rolling green fairways and the relaxed lifestyle. Most knew that an...
Experts Predict Mild Alaska Wildfire Season
Apr 28 2009 // Fire forecasters for the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center are predicting a rather mild wildfire season this summer. However, Dave Curry, manager of the agency that coordinates firefighting efforts for the state,...
Willis Re, Thomson Reuters Launch Online Catastrophe Price Index
Apr 28 2009 // Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global broker Willis Group Holdings, and Thomson Reuters today announced the launch of the Willis Re Catastrophe Price Index™ on the Thomson Reuters Insurance Linked Securities...
Florida Rep. Proctor Challenges Commissioner McCarty’s Insurance View
Apr 28 2009 // In my opinion, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s assertions that our state has “one of the most” competitive property insurance markets in the country and that easing rate regulation will not...
RMS’ Paradex Model Plays Key Role in Munich Re, Tokio Marine Cat Swap
Apr 27 2009 // Risk Management Solutions announced that Munich Re and Tokio Marine Nisshin Fire have closed a private catastrophe swap based on its industry loss index, Paradex-Europe Windstorm. “This transaction now brings the...
Willis Research Network Reports on Hazard Risk Assessment Conference
Apr 27 2009 // Last Thursday, April 23, the Willis Research Network (WRN), which is supported by Munich Re, Risk Management Solutions and Swiss Re, held a conference at the General Assembly of European Geosciences Union (EGU) in Vienna....
Has Globalization Made the World More Catastrophe-Prone?
Apr 27 2009 // As the world grapples with the worst economic downturn in decades and the possibility of a flu pandemic, a growing body of research suggests the complexity of the modern global economy may make us more vulnerable than ever...
South Carolina Gov. Sanford Backs Cut in Wildfire Fighting Budget
Apr 27 2009 // South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is not backing down from his proposal to trim $1 million in state spending from wildfire fighting, even as damages mount in a fire near Myrtle Beach. Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said that...
Report: Levees Won’t Save New Orleans in Extreme Events
Apr 27 2009 // Levees and floodwalls surrounding New Orleans – no matter how large or sturdy – cannot provide absolute protection against overtopping or failure in extreme events, according to a new report by the National...
Mississippi to Study Hurricane Mitigation Efforts’ Costs, Benefits
Apr 24 2009 // Mississippi has hired a wind engineering firm to assess the various steps that property owners might take to reduce damage from hurricanes. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney and wind engineering firm AIR...
