Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Rural Communities Evacuated in Wake of Heat-driven Wildfire
Sep 27 2016 // More evacuations were ordered Tuesday as a growing wildfire threatened remote communities in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. The blaze in a rugged area 30 miles south of San Jose destroyed one home and charred...
Typhoon Megi Hits Taiwan, Bringing 20 Foot Waves, Power Cuts; RMS Comments
Sep 27 2016 // Typhoon Megi lashed Taiwan with wind and rain on Tuesday, bringing 20-foot-high waves and knocking pedestrians off their feet in Taipei. More than 280,000 households lost electricity, state-owned utility Taiwan Power said...
Tropical Storm Julia Leaves Wet Mess Behind in North Carolina
Sep 27 2016 // Damage from flooding in eastern North Carolina approached the level of destruction left behind by Hurricane Irene in 2011, Gov. Pat McCrory said Friday. But instead of the hurricane’s storm surge, the cause of this...
Weather Service: Tornados Touch Down Hundreds of Miles Apart in Utah
Sep 26 2016 // Two tornados touched down hundreds of miles apart in Utah, damaging about two dozen buildings and knocking out power to thousands of people, the National Weather Service Confirmed. The severe weather on Thursday also...
Tulsa Geoscience Center Gets Earthquake Sensor; Area Now Has 3
Sep 23 2016 // With no signs earthquakes will stop rumbling in the state anytime soon, Oklahoma museums and schools are being targeted to participate in a nationwide citizen science project that tracks — or catches — seismic activity...
Hailstorm Caused $4M in Damage to City in New Mexico
Sep 23 2016 // A small city in southeastern New Mexico is recovering after being hit with a strong hailstorm. The Hobbs News-Sun reported that Jal was struck this weekend with hailstones bigger than golf balls that caused an estimated $4...
Judge Claims Facebook Not Taking Terrorism Threat Seriously
Sep 23 2016 // A federal judge slammed Facebook Inc., saying the social media giant might not be doing enough to deter terrorists from using its platform. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, New York, also accused...
What Climate Change Has to Do with Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis
Sep 22 2016 // Climate change will cause more earthquakes. It’s as simple as that. Deniers, start your engines. If that isn’t enough to enflame the smoldering embers of discourse within those ready to pounce on any and all...
National Flood Insurance Program Buys Private Reinsurance, Plans More in 2017
Sep 22 2016 // The federal government has contracted with private reinsurers to improve the National Flood Insurance Program’s claims paying ability and reduce the need for the NFIP to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover future...
4.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Northern Oklahoma
Sep 21 2016 // The U.S. Geological Survey says a 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck extreme northern Oklahoma late Monday and was widely felt throughout parts of Kansas. No injuries or damage were reported. The earthquake was centered near...
California Wildfire Now Costliest in U.S. History to Fight at $200M
Sep 21 2016 // A wildfire burning for nearly two months on California’s scenic Big Sur coast has surpassed $200 million in firefighting costs, becoming the costliest to fight in U.S. history, according to data released this...
New York Businesses Advised to Check Insurance in Wake of Chelsea Terrorism Bombing
Sep 20 2016 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has identified the incident where a bomb went off from inside a dumpster in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29 people, as an act of terrorism. “I said yesterday I...
Lockton Launches Corporate Terrorism Product with London Markets
Sep 20 2016 // Insurance broker Lockton, in conjunction with London Market insurers Hiscox, Beazley, Talbot and XL Catlin, have launched a new product – Terrorism Crisis Solutions (TCS) – designed to offer corporate clients a...
Hurricane Ike-Damaged Roofs to Get Repaired – 8 Years After Storm
Sep 20 2016 // Blue tarps that still cover hundreds of storm-damaged homes in Houston — including some houses battered by Hurricane Ike in 2008 — could finally be gone thanks to a new city program that’s promising to perform...
AIR Worldwide Expands Global Terrorism Risk Model
Sep 19 2016 // Catastrophe risk modeler AIR Worldwide has expanded the capabilities of its terrorism risk model to support scenario testing for the United States and 27 other countries to help companies assess the impact of different...
Low Prices Ultimately Could Bite London Market Insurers: A.M. Best, PwC Reports
Sep 19 2016 // The business outlook for the London insurance market is a familiar one across other global markets: underwriting profits are under pressure as ongoing soft market prices begin to take a toll. In separate reports on the...
September Earthquake Deemed Oklahoma’s Strongest on Record; Insured Costs Uncertain
Sep 19 2016 // An earthquake that hit Pawnee, Okla., in the north central part of the state on Sept. 3 was upgraded on Sept. 7 from the preliminary 5.6 magnitude estimate to a 5.8 magnitude temblor by the U.S. Geological Survey, making...
Florida’s First Hurricane in 11 Years ‘Could Have Been a Lot Worse’ for Industry
Sep 19 2016 // The 11-year hurricane drought in Florida is officially over. While preliminary damage estimates and claims are still trickling in from Hurricane Hermine, Florida’s first named hurricane since 2005, the consensus from...
Typhoon Meranti Hits China; 6 Reported Dead, More Missing
Sep 16 2016 // At least six people died and six are missing as Typhoon Meranti, the strongest storm in the world this year, passed through China. The storm, which earlier killed one person and injured several in Taiwan, claimed three...
Galveston Completes Most Hurricane Ike Recovery Projects
Sep 15 2016 // Most municipal recovery projects in Galveston in the wake of Hurricane Ike have been finished in the eight years since the storm battered the island. Ike made landfall in Galveston on Sept. 13, 2008. The Galveston County...
