Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Earthquake Authority Named Administrator of Wildfire Fund
Apr 29 2020 // The California Catastrophe Response Council, which oversees the Wildfire Fund, has formally named the California Earthquake Authority the fund’s administrator. The Wildfire Fund was established by the California...
Liberty Mutual Estimates Q1 Loss from Coronavirus to Be Like Moderate Catastrophe
Apr 28 2020 // Global insurer Liberty Mutual said the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have the most impact on its first quarter investment portfolio results, with its business in trade credit, general liability, workers compensation, and...
EF-2 Tornado Caused Significant Damage in Western South Carolina
Apr 28 2020 // The National Weather Service said Sunday that a tornado touched down Saturday night in northwestern South Carolina. The EF-2 tornado at Greenville reached its “peak intensity” of 115 mph (185 kph). It created...
11 Arkansas Counties Declared Disasters after April 12 Tornadoes, Storms
Apr 27 2020 // Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has declared 11 counties disaster areas in the wake of severe storms and tornadoes on April 12, 2020. The eleven counties are Arkansas, Bradley, Cleveland, Dallas, Drew, Grant, Hot Spring,...
Small Earthquake Confirmed in Southern Oregon
Apr 27 2020 // A magnitude-3.1 earthquake struck in southern Oregon near Ashland, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. Just before 10 a.m. Friday, the quake rumbled about 10 miles southwest of Ashland at a depth of 1.6 miles, according...
Tennessee Insurance Claims from Deadly March Tornadoes Top $1B
Apr 27 2020 // More than 15,600 insurance claims seeking more than $1.1 billion have been filed in Tennessee over deadly tornadoes that tore through the state early last month, state officials said Thursday. Tennessee Department of...
Update: At Least 7 Dead After Storms in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana
Apr 24 2020 // Severe weather moved through the South on April 23 after killing at least seven people in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, including a worker at a factory hit by an apparent tornado, a man whose car was blown off the road...
Mississippi Windstorm Insureds Eligible for Fortified Roof Replacement
Apr 24 2020 // The Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA) will now provide – at no cost to homeowners – a FORTIFIED Roof endorsement on eligible new and renewing policies. The new endorsement will apply when a covered...
Deadly Tornadoes Slam Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Apr 23 2020 // At least six people were killed and dozens were injured when tornadoes swept through Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas on April 22, according to media reports. In a media release issued by the Texas governor’s office,...
Earthquake Hits Croatia, a Month After Another Tremor Causes Damages of $6B
Apr 23 2020 // An earthquake rattled Croatia’s capital, a month after a stronger tremor left Zagreb in need of $6 billion for renovation, adding to a growing list of costs as the European Union battles the coronavirus. The...
Light Shaking as M3.7 Earthquake Hit South Los Angeles
Apr 23 2020 // Light shaking could be felt across the Los Angeles Basin after a magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck underneath South Los Angeles just after midnight Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times reported the earthquake, that occurred at...
CoreLogic: Rebuilding Costs from Southeast Tornado Outbreak Total Nearly $3B
Apr 23 2020 // The more than 86 tornadoes that ravaged through the Southeast earlier this month caused damage to 23,448 structures with a reconstruction value estimated at $2.95 billion, according to CoreLogic. CoreLogic said more than...
Wisconsin Governor Issues Emergency Order Due to Wildfires
Apr 22 2020 // Wisconsin residents grappling with the coronavirus have something else to worry about now: wildfires. Gov. Tony Evers on April 21 declared statewide state of emergency in response to elevated wildfire conditions. The...
South Gets Slammed Again by Severe Storms, Tornado Suspected in Mississippi
Apr 21 2020 // Suspected tornadoes killed at least two people as severe weather blasted a wide area across the Deep South, officials said. Jerry Oliver Williams, 61, of Henry County died when the storm struck a rural area about 11:30...
South Carolina: Hurricane Response Plan a ‘Good Question’ Amid Virus Outbreak
Apr 21 2020 // With hurricane season less than two months away, officials in South Carolina said they don’t yet have a good plan in place if a storm hits during the coronavirus outbreak, particularly for people potentially...
More Storms Hit South, Tornadoes Threaten Region
Apr 20 2020 // High winds, hail and heavy rain pounded parts of Alabama on Sunday, as forecasters warned residents to brace for possible tornadoes and flooding later in the day across a wide swatch of the southern United States. More...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Implements Accommodations for Policyholders
Apr 20 2020 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the state’s coastline is temporarily reducing the amount of premium due in order to issue a policy and providing 75 days to pay the...
South Carolina Reports Damage to 900 Homes from at Least 16 Tornadoes
Apr 17 2020 // More than 900 homes were damaged and 111 houses were destroyed by a series of tornadoes and strong winds that moved across the state Monday, emergency officials said. Damage from the storms were reported in 21 counties,...
Six Things to Know About the Recent Impasse Between Regulators and Insurers in the Aftermath of California’s Devastating Wildfires
Apr 17 2020 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. California’s 2017 and 2018 catastrophic wildfire events hit state insurers historically hard, with record-breaking losses of over $25 billion.1 2 Three years...
PG&E’s Plan to Pay $19M from California Wildfire Victims Fund OK’d
Apr 16 2020 // The Northern California victims of catastrophic wildfires caused by Pacific Gas & Electric’s decaying electrical grid will have at least $19 million siphoned way from a $13.5 billion fund for their losses to...
