Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
L.A. County Sues Southern California Edison for Wildfire Damage
Apr 29 2019 // Los Angeles County sued Southern California Edison and parent company Edison International on Thursday to recover more than $100 million in costs and damages from a wind-driven wildfire that may have been sparked by one of...
PG&E Behind on Tree Work in California a Month from Wildfire Season
Apr 29 2019 // California is just one month away from the official start of wildfire season and bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. is running behind on inspections, repairs and tree-trimming that was ordered up to reduce the risk of...
Florida Officials Call on U.S. Lawmakers to Pass Hurricane Michael Aid Package
Apr 29 2019 // A bipartisan group of Florida Cabinet members and state lawmakers is demanding that U.S. lawmakers pass a disaster-relief package for Hurricane Michael victims. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Attorney General...
NWS: 75 Tornadoes Confirmed in Mississippi So Far in 2019
Apr 29 2019 // With three more tornadoes confirmed Friday from an April 18 outbreak, the National Weather Service now says 43 tornadoes hit Mississippi that day, and 75 for the year. The one-day amount alone equals Mississippi’s...
Expert Discusses Potential Solutions to Ease the Pain of California’s Severe Wildfires
Apr 26 2019 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv James Woods has his sights set on finding ways to help California deal with repeated years of severe wildfire seasons, and the prospect of more seasons in which record losses from large...
Buildings Damaged, 2 Killed as Tornado Tears Through Northern Louisiana
Apr 26 2019 // A tornado killed two people as it swept through the northern Louisiana city of Ruston early Thursday, officials said. The tornado caused severe damage to buildings, vehicles and power lines and forced a local university to...
PG&E Asks California for Higher Rates to Pay for Wildfire Safety, Profits
Apr 26 2019 // California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. is asking state regulators for another increase in rates and profits, saying it’s needed for wildfire safety and to attract investment as the utility goes through...
SCOR’s Q1 Net Profit Drops 21% on Japan Typhoons in 2018
Apr 26 2019 // French reinsurer SCOR, whose CEO faces a vote on his demotion during a shareholders meeting on Friday, said its net profit in the first quarter fell 21 percent as a result of the impact of 2018 typhoons in Japan. SCOR...
Above Average Year for Tornadoes in Alabama; 53 Confirmed So Far
Apr 25 2019 // Alabama already has exceeded its yearly average for tornadoes with more than 50 twisters verified in the state so far in 2019. The National Weather Service tweets that Alabama has had 53 total tornadoes so far this year....
PG&E Can Pay Employees $350M to Meet Safety Goals After California Wildfires
Apr 24 2019 // PG&E Corp. can pay employees up to $350 million in bonuses this year to spur them to help meet the bankrupt California power provider’s safety goals to prevent wildfires, a judge said on Tuesday. PG&E’s...
California Wildfires Helped Drive Homeowners Premium Volume in Surplus Lines
Apr 23 2019 // Wildfires have evidently been driving more Californians into the surplus lines market, pushing up homeowners surplus premium volume to more than $122 million in 2018, according to the Surplus Line Association of...
FEMA Transfers More Flood Risk with $300 Million Cat Bond
Apr 23 2019 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has again turned to private reinsurance markets to help strengthen the financial framework of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Last week FEMA entered into a...
Techquake: The Biggest Threat to California’s Tech-Sector May Lie Directly Beneath its Feet
Apr 23 2019 // California’s technology sector has had a tough year with state and federal policymakers, to say nothing of the general public. Concerns about the size and scope of internet firms have led to a “techlash,”...
Municipalities Try to Reassure Investors on Climate Risks in Bond Offerings
Apr 23 2019 // When Miami Beach borrowed $162 million from Wall Street this week, it wanted investors to know rising seas and extreme weather are a real risk to the city and that it’s doing something about it. An increasing number...
Powerful Earthquake Strikes Philippines, Causing Deaths and Damage
Apr 23 2019 // A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines on Tuesday, hitting the central region hours after at least 15 people were killed by a tremor in the main Luzon island. Fourteen of the dead were from Pampanga province,...
Strong Storms Cause Tornadoes, Deaths Across Southeast
Apr 23 2019 // Strong storms roared across the Southeast last week, killing at least two in Mississippi and a woman in Alabama while leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. A girl...
NOAA Upgrades Hurricane Michael to Category 5
Apr 22 2019 // Hurricane Michael, which devastated a swath of the Florida Panhandle last fall, has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm, only the fourth to make recorded landfall in the United States and the first since 1992. The...
Lower Catastrophe Losses Help Boost Q1 Profit for Travelers
Apr 21 2019 // Insurer Travelers Companies Inc.’s quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates on Thursday, as improved underwriting and lower catastrophe losses offset a decline in net investment income, sending its shares to a...
Tsunami-Wrecked Fukushima Nuclear Plant Begins Fuel Removal in Melted Reactor
Apr 18 2019 // The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant began removing fuel Monday [April 15] from a cooling pool at one of three reactors that melted down in the 2011 disaster, a milestone in what will be a...
Catastrophe Insurer Palomar Announces IPO Pricing, Shares Rise 1st Day of Trading
Apr 17 2019 // La Jolla, Calif.-based Palomar Holdings Inc. this week announced the pricing of its initial public offering of its common stock at a price of $15 per share and in its first day of trading on Wednesday it had at one point...
