Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Storm Erika Fades Before Florida After 20 Deaths in Caribbean Island
Aug 31 2015 // Tropical Storm Erika, which killed at least 20 people on the small Caribbean island of Dominica, broke up in the waters off Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. All tropical storm warnings and watches...
Wildfire Threatens Idaho Town, Evacuations Ordered
Aug 28 2015 // Residents in west-central Idaho near the town of Riggins were told to flee due to a wildfire that expanded to 40 square miles Thursday, an 11-square-mile jump. Fire managers say the fire made runs through the tops of trees...
Florida Prepares for Possible Hurricane Erika on Monday
Aug 27 2015 // Florida advised residents and tourists to check disaster kits and escape plans as chances rise the state will face its first hurricane strike in 10 years. Tropical Storm Erika, which has triggered storm watches and...
RMS and Taiwan’s MSIG Mingtai Collaborate on Typhoon Risk Insights
Aug 27 2015 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, has formed a technical collaboration with MSIG Mingtai Insurance Co. Ltd. to share industry information and insight about the local Taiwanese insurance...
$198M in Property at High Risk from Chelan Wildfire in Washington
Aug 26 2015 // The massive Chelan wildfire in Washington poses a significant risk to roughly 634 homes with a total reconstruction cost of more than $198 million, an analysis of the ongoing fire issued Wednesday shows. The analysis by...
IBHS: After Katrina, Roofing Regulations Stronger on Gulf Coast
Aug 26 2015 // According to new research by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, stronger building codes and standards, along with more stringent requirements for inspections, building permits, and contractor...
Hurricane Katrina: The Numbers Tell Their Own Story
Aug 26 2015 // In a 25-year span leading up to 2005, homeowners insurers in Louisiana wrote a total of $13 billion in homeowners insurance premium, from which they earned $1 billion in profit, according to the chief actuary at the state...
Tropical Storm Erika Could Reach Florida by Monday
Aug 26 2015 // A “Hurricane Hunter” airplane has found that Tropical Storm Erika strengthened slightly as it approached the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, where warnings and watches have been posted, the U.S. National...
Update: Hurricane Center Keeping Eye on Tropical Storm Erika
Aug 25 2015 // A “Hurricane Hunter” reconnaissance plane headed out Tuesday to investigate Tropical Storm Erika, a disorganized system on a path yet to be pinned down. Erika touched off tropical storm watches on some of the...
Typhoon Goni Makes Landfall on Japan, Causing Injuries, Evacuations
Aug 25 2015 // Typhoon Goni made landfall on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu, causing injuries and prompting evacuation orders. Cancellations of airline and train service affected thousands of people. Goni, which had...
Hurricane Danny Dies, but Peak Hurricane Season Looms
Aug 24 2015 // Although what was once Hurricane Danny has degenerated into a “trough of low pressure” in the eastern Caribbean, according to the Nation Hurricane Center, a new disturbance in the middle of the Atlantic has a...
Geologist: Kansas Earthquakes Linked to Injection Wells
Aug 24 2015 // Kansas Geological Survey believes an increase in earthquakes in two southern Kansas counties is linked to saltwater injection after oil and natural gas drilling, according to an agency scientist. The agency had said in the...
Study: Ventura, Oxnard in California Could be at Greater Tsunami Risk
Aug 24 2015 // A study says two California coastal cities are at greater risk from tsunamis than previously thought. The study released last week by the American Geophysical Union examined the flooding risk if earthquake faults in the...
Researchers Find Link Between Atlantic Hurricanes and Amazon Wildfires
Aug 24 2015 // Researchers have uncovered a “remarkably strong link” between high wildfire risk in the Amazon basin and the hurricanes that ravage North Atlantic shorelines. The wildfire-hurricane association is a result of...
Hurricane Danny Weakens to Tropical Depression
Aug 24 2015 // As of 8 a.m East Coast time, Danny, which became a Category 3 hurricane last Friday, had weakened substantially to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center...
‘Tiny’ Hurricane Danny Expected to Weaken
Aug 21 2015 // Tiny Hurricane Danny strengthened on its path across the Atlantic and may reach the Leeward Islands sometime Monday. With top winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour, Danny is now a Category 2 storm on the five-step...
8 Ways Katrina Changed Commercial Property Insurance
Aug 21 2015 // Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans 10 years ago, is responsible for a number of changes in the commercial property insurance market. According to Rick Miller, U.S. property practice leader at Aon Risk...
Lawsuit Relief Needed for TWIA Depopulation Plan to Work: Lawmakers
Aug 21 2015 // A new law that becomes effective Sept. 1 in Texas will give the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the coast more leeway in a plan to reduce its overall exposure by incenting private...
At Least 36 Homes Destroyed by Oregon Wildfire
Aug 20 2015 // The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says at least 36 homes have been destroyed by an Eastern Oregon wildfire, 10 more than previously reported. Gov. Kate Brown met Wednesday with victims of the fire near John Day and...
Danny Turns Into Hurricane, Atlantic Season’s First
Aug 20 2015 // Danny became the first hurricane of the Atlantic season as its top winds grew to 75 miles per hour in the seas east of the Windward Islands. The Category 1 storm, about 1,090 miles (1,754 kilometers) from the islands,...
