Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mississippi Gov Seeks Federal Tornado Aid for End of April Outbreak
May 16 2017 // Residents of Holmes and Montgomery counties in Mississippi could get federal help following April 30 tornadoes, if Gov. Phil Bryant gets his way. Bryant on Thursday officially asked that President Donald Trump declare a...
Evacuation Order Lifted for Georgia Residents Near Okefenokee Wildfire
May 16 2017 // A mandatory evacuation order has been lifted for two south Georgia towns threatened for days last week by a wildfire that had spread outside the boundaries of the neighboring Okefenokee swamp. Authorities say evacuation...
Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touchdown in Owasso, Oklahoma
May 15 2017 // Forecasters say a tornado that hit near Tulsa on May 11 had a preliminary ranking of EF1 with wind speeds of 90 mph to 100 mph. The National Weather Service in Tulsa says more surveys are underway to determine whether any...
Study: Expected Increase in Tornadoes Raises Risk to Mobile Homes
May 15 2017 // Tornadoes and mobile homes don’t mix to begin with, but throw in the volatility of climate change and the potential for massive property damage and deaths is even higher in coming decades, indicates a new study by...
Regulators in California Hit PG&E with $8.3M Fine for Deadly Wildfire
May 15 2017 // Regulators say they have fined Pacific Gas and Electric Co. $8.3 million for failing to maintain a power line that sparked a massive blaze in Northern California that destroyed 549 homes and killed two people. The...
Earthquake Authority Creates Online Home Vulnerability Evaluator
May 15 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority has created an online tool to help home inspection specialists evaluate a house’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. The online tool, QuakeGrade, uses information entered by an...
Study: Expected Increase in Tornadoes Raises Risk to Mobile Homes
May 15 2017 // Tornadoes and mobile homes don’t mix to begin with, but throw in the volatility of climate change and the potential for massive property damage and deaths is even higher in coming decades, indicates a new study by...
Insurance Industry-Backed Storm Damage Bill Passes Texas House
May 15 2017 // The passage in the Texas House of a bill limiting liability for property insurance companies sued by policyholders following weather related events has given the insurance industry, which lobbied strongly for the bill,...
How a Border-Adjustment Tax Would Hurt Louisiana’s Insurance Market
May 12 2017 // Louisiana already has some of the highest property insurance rates in the nation. But they could creep higher still—an estimated $1.11 billion higher over the next decade—should congressional tax-reform efforts limit...
Wisconsin Under State of Emergency for Wildfire Danger
May 12 2017 // Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency as the state faces heightened wildfire conditions. Walker issued an executive order directing all state agencies to assist with potential wildfire response and...
Bermuda Re/Insurers Hit by Ogden Rate Change, Higher Nat Cats: S&P
May 12 2017 // A big change in the Ogden rate in the UK and higher natural catastrophe losses are dampening a wide range of Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer results in the 2017 first quarter, Standard & Poor’s said in a new...
Evacuations Continue in Georgia Wildfire Zone But Many Defy Orders
May 10 2017 // Jessica Boldin and her family evacuated 15 horses, six dogs and other animals from their ranch in rural Georgia as a vast wildfire emerging from the Okefenokee Swamp blackened trees behind their home. Flames that pushed...
U.S. Weather Remains Biggest Driver of Global Insurance Losses in 2017: Aon
May 10 2017 // Severe weather in the U.S. remains the largest contributor to global insurance losses in 2017 after April continued the trend with multi-billion dollar losses for public and private insurers, according to Impact...
Florida Ag Commissioner Says ‘No End in Sight’ as Wildfires Burn Statewide
May 10 2017 // Three schools canceled classes due to smoky conditions from a nearby wildfire as Florida’s agriculture commissioner said the state is in the “midst of its worst wildfire season in years – with no end in...
Arsonists Blamed for 320 Florida Wildfires in 2017
May 9 2017 // Florida officials say arsonists have ignited about 320 wildfires so far this year, burning more than 20,000 acres across the state. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said severe drought conditions have increased the...
2 Tornadoes Confirmed in Atlanta Area
May 9 2017 // Weather officials have confirmed that two Atlanta-area sites were touched by tornadoes on Thursday. The National Weather Service said Friday in a news release that a tornado with winds of 75-85 mph (121-137 kph) touched...
California Earthquake Authority Creates Online Home Vulnerability Evaluator
May 8 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority has created an online tool to help home inspection specialists evaluate a house’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. The online tool, QuakeGrade, uses information entered by an...
Wild Weather Causes Damage Across Southeast
May 8 2017 // Storms moving across the Southeast late last week caused damage from high winds and tornadoes in some parts, as well as sparked fires, in multiple states. Officials say tropical storm-force winds blew down power lines and...
Dozens Forced to Evacuate in Southern Georgia as Wildfire Spreads
May 8 2017 // Several dozen people in Georgia’s southernmost county have been evacuated after a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp has begun to burn just a few miles from the St. George community. Saturday’s evacuation...
Palomar Specialty, AAA Club to Offer Earthquake Insurance in Oklahoma
May 8 2017 // Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. has partnered with AAA Club Alliance to offer residential earthquake insurance, starting in Oklahoma. According to AAA Oklahoma Vice President of Insurance Russ Iden more than half of the...
