Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Deems Severe Weather in Late May a Catastrophe
Jun 8 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance has determined the severe weather event that occurred May 23, 2015, through May 30, 2015, in Harris, Dallas, Travis, Fort Bend, Tarrant, Bexar, Hays, Rusk, Randall, Williamson, Collin,...
Nevada Tornado Damages Businesses and Homes
Jun 8 2015 // A tornado ripped through the Nevada town of Hawthorne on Friday afternoon, damaging homes and businesses, causing scattered power outages and temporarily shutting down a highway, authorities said. No injuries were...
Number of US Homes at Risk of Storm Surge Damage in 2015 Tops 6.6 Million
Jun 8 2015 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Total Reconstruction Cost Value of Homes is Nearly $1.5 Trillion Although the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts have been spared any significant hurricane damage over the...
2 Years After Tornado, Oklahoma’s Moore Rebuilding; View Video
Jun 5 2015 // Two years ago on May 20, an EF 5 tornado touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, 4.4 miles west of Newcastle. The powerful twister, with wind speeds reaching 210 miles per hour, cleared a path of destruction stretching 14 miles...
UPDATE: Hurricane Blanca Remains on Course for Baja California
Jun 5 2015 // The latest bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami describes Blanca as a “large hurricane,” with hurricane force winds extending “outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical...
Price Declines Slow on June U.S. Reinsurance Renewals: Guy Carpenter
Jun 5 2015 // After two years of price decreases averaging 15 percent on U.S. property catastrophe placements, risk-adjusted pricing moderated at the most recent June renewals. Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. reported that...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Highlights Improvements Made Since 2011
Jun 5 2015 // Texas windstorm insurer of last resort for coastal counties has released its annual report, which it says shows the practices and procedures of the organization have improved greatly since 2011. That was the year the Texas...
UPDATE: Hurricane Blanca Weakens off Mexico Coast; Bound for Baja Resorts
Jun 4 2015 // Hurricane Blanca weakened slightly off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Thursday but could restrengthen as it continues moving toward tourist resorts at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, the U.S. National...
May U.S. Storm, Tornado Claims over $1Bn: Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting
Jun 4 2015 // Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, has released its latest Global Catastrophe Recap report for the month of May. The report highlights the “powerful thunderstorms” that...
Report: More Than 6.6M Atlantic and Gulf Coast Homes at Risk of Storm Surge
Jun 4 2015 // More than 6.6 million homes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at risk of hurricane storm surge with a total reconstruction cost value estimated to be nearly $1.5 trillion, according to a report released today. Property...
Tornado Caused $18.6M in Damage at Wisconsin Campus
Jun 3 2015 // A final tally shows a tornado that struck the University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus nearly a year ago caused $18.6 million in damage. The school released the final damage numbers on June 2. The tornado hit the campus...
Hurricane Blanca Grows off Mexico Coast; Headed for Tip of Baja
Jun 3 2015 // Hurricane Blanca strengthened to a category 4 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Wednesday and was expected to bear down on a tourist hub at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, the U.S. National...
California Assembly Advances Earthquake Safety Bills
Jun 3 2015 // The California Assembly is advancing a pair of bills designed to help buildings withstand earthquakes. The legislation approved unanimously this week would expand financial incentives for seismic retrofits. AB428 would...
Florida Gun Owners Without Permits Get Exemption for Hurricanes
Jun 3 2015 // Florida gun owners who don’t have a concealed weapons permit can now take their firearms with them while fleeing a hurricane. Not that it’s been a big problem in Florida in the past. No one can cite an example...
Texas Pounded by Weather Extremes in May
Jun 2 2015 // Even though it means the commencement of hurricane season, weather-beleaguered Texans are likely pleased that May 2015 has come and gone. Texas was pelted during the month of May with all kinds of violent and deadly...
Pacific Storms Rage While Atlantic Hurricane Season Opens Quietly
Jun 2 2015 // The Atlantic hurricane season opened with empty seas and low expectations as two storms raged off the western coast of Mexico, where they will almost certainly stay. Hurricane Andres, which formed last week and grew into a...
NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter Planes Get $42 million Upgrade
Jun 2 2015 // The hurricane planes known affectionately as “Miss Piggy” and “Kermit” are getting new Rolls-Royce engines, new wings and better radar. Every hurricane season for nearly four decades, the two...
It’s a Myth That Summer Storms Mitigate Droughts: Researcher
Jun 1 2015 // Popular opinion says that tropical storms and hurricanes that make landfall mitigate droughts in the southeastern United States. But that simply isn’t true, according to a Florida State University researcher. Vasu...
Worried About Dying from Surgery, Hurricane, Plane Crash? Check Out the Odds
Jun 1 2015 // Americans who worry about dying worry about the wrong things. That’s according to the National Safety Council, which kicked off National Safety Month by unveiling its annual list of Americans’ “Odds of...
Small Earthquake Rattles Southern California Desert
Jun 1 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey says a light earthquake struck Southern California on Sunday morning. The magnitude 4.1 quake occurred at 6:02 a.m. Sunday at a depth of about 7 miles. The quake was located about 7 miles...
