Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Army Corps, Texas Officials Propose Sweeping Hurricane Protection Plan
Oct 26 2018 // Following years of research, studies and public debate, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — in partnership with the state’s General Land Office — has recommended a multi-billion-dollar project that would protect...
Better Underwriting, Lower Taxes Behind The Hartford’s Strong Q3 Results
Oct 26 2018 // The Hartford reported third quarter 2018 net profit of $427 million compared with $145 million in third quarter 2017. The $282 million increase was due to higher commercial lines, personal lines, group benefits and mutual...
Climate Change Impact Assessment Looks at Risk, Readiness Around U.S.
Oct 25 2018 // Low risk, but low readiness. That’s the assessment for Long Beach, Calif., a city that’s close to my heart. For those who love numbers, the city has a risk score of 49.48, and a readiness score of 47.01. Not...
Mexico Begins Digging Out from Destruction of Hurricane Willa
Oct 25 2018 // Residents on Mexico’s Pacific Coast on Wednesday began clearing up the wreckage left by Hurricane Willa, which ripped through towns overnight, tearing off rooftops, downing power lines and splitting trees...
Typhoon Yutu Hits Northern Mariana Islands as Strongest Storm in 68 Years
Oct 25 2018 // Super Typhoon Yutu battered the Pacific Ocean’s Northern Mariana Islands with 178 mile (286 kilometers) per hour winds, making it the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory since 1950. The storm’s eye...
Mexican Insurers Will Absorb Losses from Hurricane Willa: A.M. Best
Oct 25 2018 // Mexico’s insurance industry overall remains well-capitalized and can absorb the financial impact generated from Hurricane Willa, according to an A.M. Best briefing. Hurricane Willa made landfall on Oct. 23 on...
Insurers Under Scrutiny in Puerto Rico with 13,600 Hurricane Maria Claims Still Open
Oct 25 2018 // Thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced to drain their savings, close their businesses, or resign themselves to living with structural damage as they fight insurance companies over millions of dollars’ worth of...
Survey: Florida Keys Population Fell by Nearly 3K After Hurricane Irma
Oct 25 2018 // An annual population survey in the Florida Keys shows how many people left the island chain after Hurricane Irma last year. The Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida found that every Keys...
Chubb Notches Solid Q3 Profit with Lower Catastrophe Losses
Oct 24 2018 // Chubb reported solid profit, increases in net premiums written and a healthy property/casualty combined ratio in its 2018 third quarter. The insurer booked $1.2 billion in net income during Q3 versus a $70 million net loss...
Georgia Gov. Calls Special Session to Address Hurricane Michael Recovery Costs
Oct 24 2018 // Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has called a special session of the state legislature to grapple with the recovery costs from Hurricane Michael. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the governor’s office expects...
Galveston Struggling to Rebuild Housing 10 Years After Hurricane Ike
Oct 24 2018 // Galveston hasn’t done enough to rebuild public housing that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike a decade ago, public housing advocates say. Fewer than half of the island city’s 569 public housing units have been...
Weakened Hurricane Willa Moves Inland from Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Oct 24 2018 // Willa’s fierce winds eased as the storm barreled inland over Mexico early on Wednesday, unleashing heavy rains after leaving power outages and toppled trees on the coast but causing no deaths, officials and...
Florida Death Toll From Hurricane Michael Climbs to 29
Oct 24 2018 // Authorities in Florida say Hurricane Michael has killed at least 29 people in the state, bringing the overall death toll to 39. Florida Emergency Management Division spokesman Alberto Moscoso says the state toll stood at...
Farmers in Hawaii Lost $28M Because of Volcano
Oct 23 2018 // A survey of Big Island farmers has found that they suffered nearly $28 million in damages because of the months-long eruption earlier this year of the Kilauea volcano, the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported. The survey of 46...
Dangerous Hurricane Willa Heads to Pacific Coast of Mexico
Oct 23 2018 // Hurricane Willa, an extremely dangerous a Category 4 storm, weakened slightly as it veered toward popular tourist resorts on Mexico’s Pacific coast on Monday, prompting government warnings for people to leave...
Georgia Estimates $250M in Insured Losses from Hurricane Michael
Oct 23 2018 // The Georgia Department of Insurance has estimated insured property losses from Hurricane Michael will reach $250 million, according to a statement Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens. In figures released Oct. 18,...
Timber Industry Suffers $1.3B in Losses from Hurricane Michael
Oct 22 2018 // Trees brought down by Hurricane Michael’s ferocious winds took a heavy toll on life, property and the timber industry in the heavily forested Florida Panhandle, where $1.3 billion in timber was lost, authorities said...
After Catastrophic Flooding, Austin Issues First Ever City-Wide Boil Water Notice
Oct 22 2018 // Early Monday morning, Austin Water issued a boil water notice for all of its customers due to elevated levels of silt from last week’s flooding. The water system is “the most recent infrastructure to struggle...
As Tornadoes Shift Eastward, Scientists Explore Why
Oct 22 2018 // Over the past few decades tornadoes have been shifting — decreasing in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas but spinning up more in states along the Mississippi River and farther east, a new study shows. Scientists aren’t...
Everest Re and Argo Report Net Catastrophe Loss Estimates for Q3 2018
Oct 19 2018 // Everest Re Group Ltd. and Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. announced their preliminary pre-tax catastrophe loss estimates for the third quarter, ended Sept. 30, 2018. Bermuda-based Everest Re’s estimated...
