Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
This Year Already Among Oklahoma’s Most Active for Wildfires
Apr 5 2017 // Oklahoma Forestry Services officials say 2017 is already among the most active years on record for wildfires. The agency has responded to more than 800 wildfires so far that resulted in more than 450,000 acres of burnt...
PERILS Releases Updated Exposure Database
Apr 4 2017 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has released the 2017 update of the PERILS Industry Exposure Database (IED). The updated database is composed of more...
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear if Arab Bank Is Financially Liable for Terrorist Attacks
Apr 4 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider reviving litigation seeking to hold Arab Bank Plc financially liable for militant attacks in Israel and the Palestinian territories that accused the Jordan-based bank of...
USDA OKs Emergency Loans for Oklahoma Ranchers Affected by Wildfires
Apr 4 2017 // Gov. Mary Fallin says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved emergency loans for livestock producers in six Oklahoma counties affected by recent wildfires. The fires in early March burned more than 1,200 square...
Update: Death Toll Rises, Dozens Injured in Russia Subway Terror Attack
Apr 3 2017 // A subway bombing in St. Petersburg killed 11 people and injured dozens more during a hometown visit by President Vladimir Putin, officials said, renewing fears of terrorism in Russia’s biggest cities less than a year...
2 California Congressmen Introduce Earthquake Mitigation Tax Incentives
Apr 3 2017 // A pair of Congressmen from California in late March introduced the Earthquake Mitigation Incentive and Tax Parity Act of 2017 to exclude incentives for residential seismic retrofits from federal taxation. The act was...
USGS Forecasts Lower Overall Seismic Hazard for Oklahoma in 2017
Apr 3 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
Michigan’s Auto Insurance Fee for Catastrophic Injuries Rising to $170
Apr 3 2017 // The annual auto insurance fee Michigan drivers pay toward caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes is rising to $170, a $10 increase. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association announced the new per-car...
USGS Lowers Seismic Hazard Forecast for Oklahoma in 2017
Mar 31 2017 // Oklahoma experienced fewer earthquakes last year compared with 2015 and a recent study of human-induced earthquakes predicts another year of reduced seismicity for the state in 2017. The U.S. Geological Survey warns,...
Mississippi Long-Term Recovery Agency Back to Work in Tornado-Ravaged Areas
Mar 29 2017 // The long-term recovery agency in Hattiesburg, Miss., R3SM, is still getting some of its people in place, but officials with the organization say it is ready to take on the huge job of leading three of the four counties hit...
Insured Cat Losses in 2016 Rose 42% at Highest Level Since 2012: Swiss Re
Mar 28 2017 // Insured losses from disasters rose 42 percent to $54 billion last year, according to Swiss Re. That’s the highest since 2012 and the equivalent of 0.07 percent of global gross domestic product. Floods in Europe, the...
Cat 4 Cyclone Debbie Pounds Australia; Insurance Council Declares Catastrophe
Mar 28 2017 // A powerful cyclone tore into Australia’s northeastern coast on Tuesday, forcing thousands of people to flee, shuttering coal to gold mines and prompting insurers to declare a catastrophe. Cyclone Debbie made landfall...
Florida Conditions Ripe For More Wildfires
Mar 28 2017 // The smell of smoke is in downtown Orlando. On Sunday, a brush fire caused a part of State Road 528 to be shut down between Orlando and the Space Coast. A fire burned last week near the north-central Florida town of Bunnell...
Hailstorms Slam Parts of North Texas
Mar 27 2017 // Thunderstorms, producing up to softball size hail, pounded several cities north of Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex Sunday night causing extensive damage, the Insurance Council of Texas reported. Thousands of homeowner and auto...
Insurers, Victims Sue Saudi Arabia Over Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks
Mar 27 2017 // Saudi Arabia is facing a renewed $6 billion lawsuit by dozens of insurers seeking to hold it responsible for business and property damage caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The lawsuit filed late Thursday in the U.S....
California Congressmen Introduce Earthquake Mitigation Tax Incentives
Mar 22 2017 // A pair of Congressmen from California today introduced the Earthquake Mitigation Incentive and Tax Parity Act of 2017 to exclude incentives for residential seismic retrofits from federal taxation. The act was introduced by...
9 Homes Destroyed in Oklahoma Wildfire
Mar 22 2017 // Fire officials are suggesting a blaze that has destroyed at least nine homes in eastern Oklahoma and forced the evacuation of more than 100 others may have been intentionally set. Highway 9 Volunteer Fire Department chief...
Thunderstorms Just as Costly to Insurers as Hurricanes: Study
Mar 22 2017 // Risk to U.S. property from thunderstorms is as high as from hurricanes, according to new research finding that for the past decade, severe convective storms have been the largest annual aggregated risk peril to the U.S....
Wildfire Destroys Homes near Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy
Mar 21 2017 // A fire chief says a wildfire has destroyed at least eight homes and several other buildings near Nebraska’s Lake McConaughy. Keystone Lemoyne Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Ralph Moul said on March 20 that the blaze...
6 Texas Counties Declared Disaster Areas After Wildfires
Mar 20 2017 // Six counties in the Texas Panhandle have been declared disaster areas by Gov. Greg Abbott following the deadly wildfires that swept through the area on March 6 – 7 burning more than 440,000 acres. Abbott’s...
