Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricane Ike Idles Texas Oil Industry, Threatens Floods
Sep 12 2008 // Powerful Hurricane Ike bore down on the heart of the U.S. energy sector in Texas Friday, leaving most production idled and threatening a fifth of the nation’s refining capacity with howling winds and a possible...
Like Ike, Insurance Exposures Along Texas Coast Are Massive
Sep 12 2008 // With a giant Hurricane Ike taking aim at the upper Texas coast, the value of insured property at risk is huge, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The total value of insured coastal property in Texas was more...
Louisiana Won’t Be Spared by Ike
Sep 12 2008 // Although Galveston, Texas, is expected to experience the brunt of the storm, Hurricane Ike is a very, very large storm, extending nearly 900 miles across according to some estimates. Louisiana figured it might have been...
Ferocious Hurricane Ike in Gulf of Mexico, Headed for Texas
Sep 11 2008 // Hurricane Ike gathered strength as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters Thursday on a track that would skirt the heart of the U.S. offshore oil patch before slamming into the Texas coast late Friday or...
Thousands Flee Texas Coast as Hurricane Ike Shifts Northward
Sep 11 2008 // On Sept. 10, it looked like Hurricane Ike was going to make landfall along the middle Texas coast, with Corpus Christi being the largest city with the most to lose from the storm, which is expected to make landfall...
Louisiana Still Mopping up From Gustav as Ike Enters Gulf
Sep 10 2008 // Hurricane Ike entered the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 9 and the latest path projected by the National Hurricane Center has the storm making landfall in Texas, possibly near Corpus Christi. Meanwhile, Louisiana is still mopping...
UPDATE: Ike ‘Growing in Size and Strength’ Says NHC
Sep 10 2008 // Although Hurricane Ike weakened considerably as it passed over Cuba, the most recent bulletin (11:00 a.m. EDT) from Miami’s National Hurricane Center warns that is now “growing in size and strength in the...
North Carolina Committee to Study Beach Plan’s Ability to Cover Risks
Sep 9 2008 // The North Carolina Legislature mandated a committee to study the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association’s (Beach Plan) ability to respond financially to a significant hurricane landfall. State Rep. Bruce...
Texas Bracing for Possible Strike by Hurricane Ike
Sep 9 2008 // As Hurricane Ike barrels over Cuba and heads toward the Gulf of Mexico, it has the potential to become the storm that insurance companies in Texas have feared most, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. As of Sept....
Rendezvous Roundup: Guy Carpenter; Aon Global Re; Munich Re
Sep 8 2008 // The Annual Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo convened this weekend amid concerns over the ongoing credit crisis, the softening of the market and the onslaught of storms in the Caribbean. The current climate for the...
CCRIF Named Re/Insurance Initiative of the Year
Sep 8 2008 // The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has been honored as the “Re/Insurance Initiative of the Year” at the 2008 Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards. It’s the first such recognition for...
Florida Closes Last Hurricane Gustav Shelter
Sep 8 2008 // The last American Red Cross shelter in Florida for Hurricane Gustav evacuees closed Sept. 6. As Hurricane Ike moves in from the west, Florida evacuees from Hurricane Gustav are finally able to return home. Craig Fugate,...
Weather, Fuel, Chief Factors in ’07 Idaho Wildfire
Sep 8 2008 // A state and federal report concluded that last summer’s lightning- and cheatgrass-stoked Murphy Complex fire that torched 1,000 square miles of Idaho and Nevada backcountry would have overwhelmed efforts by ranchers...
4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Northern Nevada
Sep 8 2008 // An earthquake has shaken the area around Swedes Place in northern Nevada. The U.S. Geological Survey’s preliminary report put the quake at a 4.1-magnitude. The temblor hit just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6,...
Army Corp of Engineers Wins Flood Fight During Hurricane Gustav
Sep 8 2008 // No breaches. Limited brash talk. No “no word” from the Army Corps of Engineers. Few foul ups. Clear risk analysis. And the flood fight got done during Hurricane Gustav. Under a microscope since the catastrophic...
Hurricane Ike over Cuba, Heading for US Gulf Coast
Sep 8 2008 // Hurricane Ike is not yet weakening over Cuba and will likely reach the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane before taking aim at the oil-rich Texas-Louisiana coast later in the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center...
Tropical Storm Hanna Landfalls in Carolinas, Ike Threatens Florida
Sep 7 2008 // Tropical Storm Hanna blew ashore over tourist beaches on the North-South Carolina border early on Sept. 6 at the start of a projected dash up the Eastern Seaboard. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hanna’s...
Hurricane Ike Threatens Bahamas; Hanna Death Toll Grows
Sep 5 2008 // Powerful Hurricane Ike weakened slightly as it moved across the Atlantic toward the Bahamas and the U.S. on Thursday, while Tropical Storm Hanna’s death toll from floods in Haiti grew to 136. Campgrounds were closed...
GOP Platform Calls for Natural Disaster Insurance Reform
Sep 5 2008 // The Republican National Committee pledged its support to improve federal natural disaster insurance as part of its platform. The GOP’s support of federal disaster insurance reform follows the Democratic National...
Colorado Forecasters Call for Four Hurricanes in September
Sep 5 2008 // Colorado hurricane researchers are forecasting five tropical storms in the Atlantic in September, including four hurricanes, two of them major. Former Colorado State University climatologist William Gray said that would be...
