Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
‘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,...
New U.S. Satellite Aims to Unlock Mysteries of Hurricanes
Aug 20 2015 // Hurricanes hold lots of secrets. Unlocking them can help forecasters predict the next steps the deadly storms will take. That, in turn, will help improve computer forecast models and give meteorologists a better...
Texas Extends Deadline in Windstorm Insurance Board Search
Aug 19 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance is extending its deadline for accepting applications for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association board to September 1. The original deadline for applications was Aug. 15. The board is...
10 Years After Katrina, Coastal Cities Face Greater Flood Risk: RMS
Aug 19 2015 // A decade after Hurricane Katrina caused $41 billion in property/casualty insurance losses, the most expensive catastrophe for the global insurance industry, rising sea levels are driving up expected economic and insurance...
Tropical Storm Danny to Become Hurricane? Maybe, Maybe Not
Aug 19 2015 // A storm-free August in the Atlantic was probably too much to ask for. Tropical Storm Danny formed out of a cluster of thunderstorms Tuesday about 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands. There’s...
S&P: ILS Investors Could Get Burned as Covered Perils Expand, Terms Widen
Aug 19 2015 // The catastrophe bond market will continue to grow by 10 to 20 percent per year, driven in part by the increase in covered perils and the broadening of event definitions, according to a report published by Standard &...
Washington Wildfires Remain Threat in Hot, Dry Weather
Aug 18 2015 // Crews continued their battle late Monday with several large fires threatening home in the Chelan area in central Washington. The blazes have destroyed more than 50 structures, forced about 1,500 residents to flee and...
Small Earthquake Jolts Northern California
Aug 18 2015 // A short sharp earthquake rattled California’s San Francisco Bay Area, but there are no reports of injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 4.0 magnitude quake struck Monday and was centered just north of...
California Earthquake Authority Prepares to Go into ‘Hyperspace’
Aug 18 2015 // The California Earthquake Authority – the state’s quasi-public earthquake insurance pool – long has had a problem with take-up. Only about 10 percent of homeowners in this most seismically active state actually...
Typhoons Goni & Atsani Moving Toward Taiwan, Japan, Korea: AccuWeather Report
Aug 18 2015 // The AccuWeather Global Weather Center reports that two typhoons, currently located in the Eastern Pacific Ocean will strengthen further in the coming days, as one or both could become super typhoons. Typhoon Goni battered...
Fracking Drives NAIC Earthquake Conversation
Aug 17 2015 // Hydraulic fracturing – the process of extracting oil and gas resources that requires breaking rock through the high-pressured injection of liquid into the ground, popularly known as “fracking” – has caused...
Regulator: Missouri Now Has $100B in Property Uninsured for Quakes
Aug 17 2015 // Angela Nelson, director of the Division of Market Regulation for the Missouri Department of Insurance, said the state now faces an earthquake coverage crisis and that the value of uninsured residential property in the...
Arab Bank Settles Terrorism Financing Claims by U.S. Citizens
Aug 17 2015 // Arab Bank Plc has agreed to settle litigation brought by hundreds of Americans who accused it of facilitating militant attacks in Israel, nearly a year after a U.S. jury found the bank liable. The settlement was confirmed...
Officials: Effort to End Oklahoma’s Earthquakes Will Take Time
Aug 17 2015 // It could take up to another year of research to determine what has caused a recent series of Oklahoma earthquakes and whether the state is doing enough to stop them, officials said. After meeting with members of the...
Hurricane Katrina and the Evolution of Risk Management
Aug 17 2015 // Nearly 10 years ago, wind and storm surges as a result of Hurricane Katrina caused $41 billion in insured losses and $108 billion in total economic losses in the United States. Many of the lawsuits filed as a result of the...
California, Pacific Northwest Schools Get $4M for Earthquake Early Warning Systems
Aug 17 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4 million to four universities in the Pacific Northwest and California to boost the development of earthquake early warning systems. The University of Washington, the University of...
