Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Floods, Earthquake Pummel Indonesia, Killing More Than 80
Mar 19 2019 // The number of people killed after torrential downpours triggered flash floods and mudslides that tore through mountainside villages in Indonesia’s easternmost province has climbed to 79, with dozens of others...
Confirmed Tornado Damaged Homes, Businesses in Mid-Michigan
Mar 18 2019 // Authorities say a tornado swept through mid-Michigan, damaging homes and knocking out power to thousands. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down at 7:03 p.m. Thursday around the Shiawassee...
New Mexico Tornado Traveled 15-Mile-Long Path, Report Shows
Mar 18 2019 // The National Weather Service reported that a tornado that destroyed or damaged numerous homes and other structures in the southern New Mexico community of Dexter traveled a path about 15 miles long and 150-350 yards...
Alabama Tornadoes Caused Nearly $6M in Timber Losses
Mar 18 2019 // The Alabama Forestry Commission estimates timber losses caused by deadly tornadoes on March 3 at nearly $5.9 million. That’s almost $1,000 per acre of timberland damaged by two or three tornadoes in Macon, Lee and...
More Tornadoes Hit Southeast, Cause Damage in Kentucky, Alabama
Mar 18 2019 // The National Weather Service has confirmed at least six tornados hit Alabama on Thursday. The National Weather Service in Birmingham on Saturday posted ongoing damage survey reports. The number of confirmed tornados could...
Consumer Advocacy in an Age of Consumer, Insurer Options
Mar 18 2019 // Today’s Insurance Consumer Advocates Are Tackling Some New and Old Issues Years ago, insurance consumer advocates in the states were most often focused on getting consumers access to insurance at fair prices. They...
Deadly Southeast Tornado Outbreak Spawned 36 Tornadoes, 23 Deaths
Mar 18 2019 // The number of tornadoes confirmed to have touched down in a deadly outbreak across the Southeast in early March was at least 36. Survey teams for the National Weather Service found evidence of the twisters in Alabama,...
Deadly 2017 California Wildfire Found Sparked by Edison Power Lines
Mar 14 2019 // The devastating Thomas Fire that killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures northwest of Los Angeles in December 2017 was sparked by power lines owned by Southern California Edison Co , fire officials said...
Earthquake Survey Finds Thousands of Washington Buildings a Concern
Mar 13 2019 // Washington state’s first statewide inventory of buildings prone to crumble or collapse in an earthquake has found there are thousands of unreinforced masonry buildings that could be dangerous. The Northwest News...
Aon, Insurtech Zesty.ai Partner to Enhance Property Underwriting with AI Data
Mar 13 2019 // Aon has formed a strategic alliance with Zesty.ai, a San Francisco-based insurtech startup, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance insurers’ property underwriting. Zesty.ai’s technology provides...
2 Tornadoes Struck Mississippi in Weekend Storms
Mar 13 2019 // The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornadoes touched down in northern Mississippi over the weekend. There were no deaths or serious injuries in either storm. The weather service in Memphis, Tennessee, said the...
Demotech: Expect 2018 Catastrophe Losses to Impact Florida-Based Insurers
Mar 12 2019 // After reviewing the year-end financial statements of the Florida-based carriers it rates, Ohio-based ratings agency Demotech is warning that many insurers could see underwriting and operating losses in their year-end...
Deadly Alabama Tornado Highlights Human Safety Risk Despite Improved Forecasting
Mar 11 2019 // Sometimes in forecasting tornadoes, you can get everything technically right, and yet it all goes horribly wrong. Three days before the killer Alabama tornado struck, government severe-storm meteorologists cautioned that...
Trump Visits Alabama to Survey Damage from Powerful Tornado
Mar 11 2019 // Standing near the slab that’s all that is left of one family’s garage, President Donald Trump on Friday surveyed the devastation wrought by a powerful tornado that ripped through a rural Alabama town, uprooting...
36 Tornadoes Confirmed in Deadly Southeast Outbreak
Mar 8 2019 // The number of tornadoes confirmed to have touched down in a deadly weekend outbreak across the Southeast has risen to at least 36. Survey teams for the National Weather Service found evidence of the twisters in Alabama,...
Pool Re Funds £10M Initiative to Help UK Businesses Improve Resilience to Terrorism
Mar 8 2019 // Pool Re, Britain’s terrorism reinsurer, is collaborating with UK government agencies to help businesses proactively protect against the risk of terrorism. The £10 million ($13.1 million) project is being funded by...
Australia Floods Cost Insurers US$635M in February: Aon’s Catastrophe Recap
Mar 8 2019 // Australia’s Northern Queensland experienced widespread flooding from Jan. 26 to Feb. 7, which cost insurers more than A$893 million (US$635 million) with total economic losses of at least A$1.7 billion (US$1.2...
Improved Tornado Forecasting Doesn’t Prevent All Deaths
Mar 8 2019 // Sometimes in forecasting tornadoes, you can get everything technically right, and yet it all goes horribly wrong. Three days before the killer Alabama tornado struck, government severe-storm meteorologists cautioned that...
Alabama Tornado Recovery Efforts Begin As Threat of More Storms Looms
Mar 7 2019 // All those listed as missing have been found and searches ended with no additional bodies discovered among the shattered homes, splintered pines and broken lives devastated by a tornado in rural Alabama, leaving the death...
Despite Improved Tornado Forecasting, Deaths Continue
Mar 7 2019 // Sometimes in forecasting tornadoes, you can get everything technically right, and yet it all goes horribly wrong. Three days before the killer Alabama tornado struck, government severe-storm meteorologists cautioned that...
