Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Three Dozen California Bills Focus on Wildfire, Others Are Concerning for Insurance Industry
Apr 6 2021 // Roughly three dozen pieces of California legislation are directly related to wildfire, and while those bills should hold much interest for the insurance community, there are other bills making their rounds that should draw...
Oklahoma, Farmers Insurance Reach $25M Settlement Over Earthquake Claims
Apr 5 2021 // Oklahoma has reached a $25 million settlement with Farmers Insurance over the company’s handling of earthquake claims, state officials say. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and Insurance Commissioner Glen...
Palomar Holdings in California Closes $400M Cat Bond with Torrey Pines Re
Apr 5 2021 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. announced that through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. and Palomar Excess and Surplus Insurance Co., the company has successfully closed a $400...
Hurricane Center: Delta Caused $2.9B in Damage
Apr 5 2021 // Hurricane Delta, which made landfall in southwestern Louisiana in early October 2020 about 11 miles from where the devastating Hurricane Laura hit a little more than a month earlier, cost $2.9 billion in the United States...
Catastrophe Bonds Positioned to Tap Into Demand for Socially Responsible Investments
Apr 5 2021 // Catastrophe bonds are being hailed as the next frontier for socially responsible investing. Such debt, which insures against natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics, is gaining traction with...
Some Georgia Schools to Remain Closed for 2 Weeks After EF-4 Tornado
Apr 5 2021 // Some schools in a county hard-hit by recent storms will remain closed for a couple of weeks as cleanup continues, school officials said. The entire district remained closed, Coweta County Superintendent Evan Horton said...
Alaska Wary of ‘California Style’ Blackouts; Study Assesses Global Hailstorm Trends
Apr 1 2021 // Alaska could face “California-style” blackouts as climate change increases the state’s wildfire risk. That’s according to an article this week in the Anchorage Daily News. The article centers on...
‘Not Over Yet,’ But Crews Gaining Control of South Dakota Wildfires
Mar 31 2021 // Firefighters have begun to gain control of wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota that have forced the evacuation of more than 400 homes and closed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Three separate wildfires were...
CoreLogic: Southeast Tornado Outbreak Affected Nearly 10K Homes
Mar 31 2021 // Nearly 10,000 homes were impacted by tornado damage that occurred across Alabama and Georgia last week, according to data from catastrophe modeling firm CoreLogic. The March 25 deadly tornado outbreak occurred thanks to...
North Carolina Residents Struggle to Recover from Strongest Tornado on Record
Mar 31 2021 // It’s been over a month since a tornado tore through southeastern Brunswick County. In Ocean Ridge Plantation, the neighborhood that bore the brunt of the storm damage, some homeowners remain in limbo. Carol Phillips...
Lawmakers from California Want U.S. Departments to Be Year-Round Wildfire Agencies
Mar 31 2021 // California’s U.S. senators and nearly two-dozen representatives are asking the Agriculture and Interior departments to transition their agencies to a year-round wildland workforce because blazes are no longer limited...
Supreme Court Could Use TransUnion ‘Terrorist List’ Case to Curb Class Actions
Mar 31 2021 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled it could narrow the scope of a class action lawsuit against TransUnion in which thousands of people sought damages after the credit reporting company flagged their names as...
Vermont State Agency Offers to Assist Residents After Rare Tornado
Mar 31 2021 // State officials in Vermont say they’re ready to assist residents with insurance claims as they cleanup and rebuild following Friday’s tornado, which injured at least two people. The state Department of...
South Dakota Wildfires: 400 Homes Evacuated; Mount Rushmore Closed
Mar 30 2021 // Three separate wildfires in the Black Hills of South Dakota have forced evacuations of more than 400 homes northwest of Rapid City and shut down Mount Rushmore, authorities said. A fire that started near Schroeder Road in...
Damaged Homes, Injuries, 1 Death, in East Texas Tornado
Mar 30 2021 // One person was killed after severe weather, including a tornado, caused damage in several communities in East Texas, authorities said. Widespread destruction across Panola County was reported, including damaged homes and...
Tornado Outbreak from ‘Super Cell’ Storms Cause Damage Across Deep South
Mar 29 2021 // Tornadoes and severe storms tore through the Deep South, killing at least five people as strong winds splintered trees, wrecked homes and downed power lines. Multiple twisters sprang from a “super cell” of...
Tornado Touches Down in Vermont, Injuring at Least Two
Mar 29 2021 // A tornado with an estimated wind speed of 110 mph touched down in Vermont on Friday afternoon, injuring at least two people. A statement from the National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont, says the tornado threw a...
State of Emergency Issued in Alabama After Tornadoes Sweep Region
Mar 26 2021 // Alabama Gov. Kay issued a state of emergency yesterday after numerous tornadoes caused damage and deaths across the state. Ivey said on Twitter Friday morning that crews would be out assessing the damage and getting...
Forecasters Warn Severe Storms Could Spawn Tornadoes in South
Mar 25 2021 // Forecasters are predicting another outbreak of severe storms in several southern states on Thursday, with the potential for strong tornadoes that carve up the ground for miles. The greatest threat, into Thursday evening,...
California Wildfire Sparked When Tree Hit Power Line, Report Shows
Mar 24 2021 // A Northern California wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 200 buildings last year was sparked when tree branches came into contact with Pacific Gas & Electric power lines, officials said in a...
