Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fire Crews on Both US Coasts Battle Wildfires; 1 Death in New York-New Jersey Fire
Nov 12 2024 // Fire crews on both coasts of the United States continued battling wildfires on Sunday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee and another in Southern California that destroyed more than...
Storm-Weary Philippines Forcibly Evacuates Thousands as Another Typhoon Hits
Nov 12 2024 // A new typhoon barreled across an agricultural region in the northeastern Philippines on Monday after thousands were evacuated to safety while still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by three successive...
California Commissioner: 1-Year Moratorium on Cancellations for Wildfire Victims
Nov 12 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 11,000 policyholders affected by the Shelly Fire located...
Spain’s Hurricane Katrina Moment Saw Officials Ignoring Warnings
Nov 8 2024 // As a deadly storm bore down on Valencia on Oct. 29, the regional president was attending a ceremony to recognize his work on sustainable tourism. Three hours earlier, Spain’s national climate agency had issued a red...
15 Homes Evacuated as Crews Battle Another Wildfire in New Jersey
Nov 8 2024 // The latest forest fire to break out in New Jersey spurred authorities to evacuate more than a dozen homes Wednesday as crews worked to contain the blaze, but no injuries or property damage has been reported. The New Jersey...
Liberty Mutual Quadruples Q3 Net Income Despite Catastrophe Losses
Nov 7 2024 // Liberty Mutual Holding Company said consolidated third quarter net income more than quadrupled to $897 million compared to $215 million during the same period a year ago. Catastrophe losses remained elevated at nearly $1.1...
Zurich’s Exposure to Hurricanes Helene, Milton Below $360M as Catastrophe Losses Rise
Nov 7 2024 // Zurich Insurance Group said on Thursday that its exposure to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which recently wreaked havoc in the United States, would be less than $360 million, as insurers face increasing losses from natural...
About 17% of Gulf of Mexico Oil Production Shut Due to Hurricane Rafael
Nov 7 2024 // About 17% of crude oil production and 7% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was shut in response to Hurricane Rafael, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Wednesday. Energy...
AIG CEO Zaffino on Approach to Catastrophe Losses in Today’s Reinsurance Market
Nov 6 2024 // American International Group CEO Peter Zaffino said he expects the reinsurance market’s attachment points to remain on top of losses generated by the frequency and severity of natural catastrophes. Losses will...
Finland Records First Hurricane-Force Winds Off West Coast
Nov 5 2024 // Finland’s coastal waters were hit by hurricane-force winds for the first time, as more extreme weather batters Europe. Storm Lyly brought an average wind speed of 33.5 meters per second on Friday to Kylmapihlaja, off...
Malibu Retrofit at $300,000 Shows Limits of Wildfire-Prepping
Nov 5 2024 // Evelin Weber and her neighbors fled their Malibu homes as the deadly Woolsey Fire tore across the California coast in 2018. Ever since, haunted by fears of another blaze, she’s spent $300,000 on fireproofing her...
Severe Storms and Tornadoes Hit Oklahoma, Leaving 11 Hospitalized
Nov 5 2024 // OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Severe storms and tornadoes battered Oklahoma early Sunday, tossing cars and ripping roofs off buildings in the middle of the night and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without...
Will People Leave Florida After Hurricanes? History Suggests Not
Nov 4 2024 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The news rippled through Treasure Island, Florida, almost like a third storm: The mayor planned to move off the barrier island a month after Hurricane Helene flooded tens of thousands of homes along...
Hawaii Attorney General Probe into Deadly Wildfire Won’t Lead to Criminal Charges
Nov 4 2024 // An investigation by the Hawaii attorney general’s office into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, which destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina, won’t lead to any criminal charges. Hawaii...
Claims From Hurricane Milton Continue to Rise in Florida
Nov 4 2024 // Two weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, claims and loss totals continue to rise. As of Oct. 21, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said carriers reported more...
Regional Banks With Florida Operations Brace for Loan Defaults After Hurricanes
Nov 1 2024 // Several regional lenders allocated loan-loss provisions in the third quarter to cover potential defaults by borrowers grappling with recent hurricanes, primarily in Florida, highlighting the risks extreme weather and...
Typhoon Kong-Rey Hits Taiwan as Shanghai Braces for Downpour
Oct 31 2024 // Typhoon Kong-Rey made landfall in Taiwan packing dangerous winds, with Shanghai bracing for the heaviest November rain burst since 1981 as the large storm tracks toward mainland China. Kong-Rey had maximum sustained winds...
Aerospace Startup Partners With NASA, USGS to Monitor Wildfires, Storms From Space
Oct 31 2024 // Aerospace startup Sceye has partnered with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey to deploy climate management tools to monitor wildfires and storms from the edge of space, the company and the government agencies exclusively...
Allstate Turns in Net Income of $1.2B After Q3 Hurricanes
Oct 31 2024 // Allstate Corp. said its net income attributable to common shareholders for the third quarter was about $1.2 billion compared to a loss of $41 million during the same time a year ago. The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer...
Update: Taiwan to Suspend Stock Trading Due to Super Typhoon Kong-Rey
Oct 30 2024 // Taiwan will suspend trading on its $2.5 trillion stock exchange Thursday as a powerful typhoon barrels toward the archipelago. Super Typhoon Kong-Rey has intensified as it skirts the Philippines and tracks toward Taiwan,...
