Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Storm Julia Weakens Along Southeast Coast
Sep 15 2016 // Tropical Storm Julia weakened into a depression and is expected to meander off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina for the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday. Julia is located about 60...
Super Typhoon Meranti Batters Taiwan: Risk Modelers AIR, RMS Assess Impact
Sep 15 2016 // Super Typhoon Meranti delivered very strong wind, high storm surge, and flooding precipitation to southern Taiwan as it passed through Luzon Strait near noon local time Wednesday. According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR...
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Clarifies Quake Coverage Moratoriums
Sep 14 2016 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak wants to alleviate concerns about six-month moratoriums on purchasing earthquake insurance. The concerns were raised after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Pawnee on Sept. 3. A...
Oklahoma Quake Insured Costs Uncertain; Swiss Re Suggests New Products Needed
Sep 13 2016 // Damage estimates of insured losses from the earthquake that hit Pawnee, Okla., in the north central part of the state on Sept. 3 likely won’t be available until early October, according to an insurance department...
Cat-Insurance Data Provider PERILS Expands Into Australia
Sep 13 2016 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has extended its market coverage to include Australia. PERILS now provides market-wide property sums insured that are exposed...
China’s Fujian Province Braces for Super Typhoon Meranti
Sep 12 2016 // Already equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 115 knots (212 km/h, 132 mph), super typhoon Meranti is expected to strengthen during the next few days and then make landfall on the...
Florida’s First Hurricane in 11 Years ‘Could Have Been a Lot Worse’ for Industry
Sep 12 2016 // A large oak tree toppled over a Whataburger restaurant in Tallahassee, Fla., Sept. 2, 2016. Many businesses and homes in Tallahassee are without power and several roads are blocked due to tree damage caused by Hurricane...
4 Tornadoes Sweep Through Central Illinois, Damage Reported
Sep 12 2016 // The National Weather Service is confirming that at least four tornadoes swept through east-central Illinois. Personnel from the weather service’s Lincoln office are surveying damage Saturday in Champaign and...
U.S. Disaster Loans Approved After Indiana Tornadoes
Sep 12 2016 // Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved low-interest disaster loans for tornado-stricken Howard County. Pence said that the contiguous counties of Cass, Carroll, Clinton, Tipton,...
Catastrophe Bond Issuance Down But Returns Up: Aon
Sep 9 2016 // Catastrophe-bond issuance slipped to its lowest level since 2011 over the past year as the securities outperformed the S&P 500 Index, according to insurance broker Aon Plc. About $5.2 billion in cat bonds was issued in...
Lloyd’s Wins Right to Keep Oklahoma Quake Damage Lawsuit in New York
Sep 8 2016 // Lloyd’s of London has kept its lawsuit against New Dominion LLC over fracking out of the state where the ground is shaking. A federal judge in New York agreed Wednesday to decide the lawsuit by Lloyd’s seeking...
Fitch: No Credit Implications for Florida State-Run Insurers From Hermine
Sep 7 2016 // Hurricane Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, is not likely to have a significant impact on the financial condition of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) or Citizens’...
5.6 Mag Oklahoma Quake Matches Record
Sep 6 2016 // Oklahoma registered one of its biggest earthquakes on Sept. 3 even after state regulators have beefed up limits on disposing oilfield waste and the rate of tremors had started to slow somewhat from unprecedented levels...
Hurricane Newton Hits Mexico with Threat of Flash Floods, Mud Slides
Sep 6 2016 // Hurricane Newton made landfall Tuesday morning in northwest Mexico and will probably cause damage from heavy rain. Cabo San Lucas, a popular tourist destination, will be hit by winds moving as fast as 90 miles (144...
The Future of Climate Change Modeling
Sep 6 2016 // For the last few years there’s been a common response from catastrophe modelers who advise the property/casualty industry when asked about including the effects of climate change in modeling. It went something like:...
More than 60 Mature Trees Indiana Park Uprooted by Tornado
Sep 2 2016 // A Kokomo, Ind. official says more than 60 mature trees at the city’s Highland park were uprooted during last week’s tornado. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Randy Morris told the Kokomo Tribune most of the...
Hermine Weakens As It Hits Florida Panhandle; Some Flooding, Power Outages Expected
Sep 2 2016 // Hermine, the first hurricane to strike Florida since 2005, has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves inland, after threatening soy and cotton crops and leaving large swaths of the region at risk of...
Northeast Could See Impact of Tropical Storm Hermine After Months of Drought
Sep 1 2016 // Over the past several months, the Northeastern U.S. has experienced abnormally dry conditions leading to a drought that could last into the fall. Now, it is facing a different problem with the looming risk of heavy rain...
Gulf Coast Prepares for Tropical Storm Hermine as Possibility of Hurricane Looms
Sep 1 2016 // Florida is being warned to prepare for arriving Tropical Storm Hermine, which is expected to dump heavy rain, bring strong winds and the possibility of isolated tornadoes across parts of the state, according to the Florida...
Cat Bonds Match Traditional Reinsurers on Reliability Scale: S&P
Sep 1 2016 // Some traditional reinsurers have asserted that catastrophe bonds are unreliable in terms of paying claims after major events. A new Standard & Poor’s article rebukes that idea. “We have explored the claims...
