Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insured Losses From Hurricane Arthur Below $250 Million: RMS
Jul 18 2014 // Insured losses from Hurricane Arthur will not exceed $250 million from wind and coastal flooding, catastrophe risk modeling firm RMS said. According to RMS, the expected loss covers damages to Residential, commercial,...
Louisiana Commissioner Asks State Farm to Offer Lower Hurricane Deductible
Jul 17 2014 // Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has asked State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. (State Farm) to offer its Louisiana policyholders Louisiana the option of a 2 percent hurricane deductible on their homeowners’ insurance...
Senate Passes TRIA Renewal with Broker Licensing Provision
Jul 17 2014 // In a 93-4 vote, the Senate today passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2244 ) that extends the federal reinsurance program for seven years. In addition to extending the Terrorism Risk...
Typhoon Rammasun Passes South of Manila, Strengthening Expected: AIR
Jul 17 2014 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Rammasun weakened as it crossed the Philippine island of Luzon and passed to the south of Manila, where wind speeds of 60-140 km/hr (37-87 mph) were observed,...
Minor Damage Reported after 2 Oklahoma Earthquakes
Jul 16 2014 // Minor damage has been reported after back-to-back earthquakes hit an Oklahoma City suburb early on July 15. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit 3 miles north-northeast of Harrah shortly after 2...
Typhoon Rammasun Makes Landfall in Philippines; AIR Analysis
Jul 16 2014 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reported that Typhoon Rammasun made landfall in the Philippine province of Sorsogon with sustained winds of 157 km/h (98 mph) on Tuesday, July 15, in late afternoon local time. The...
Record Settlement Reached in Australia Wildfire Class Action Lawsuit
Jul 16 2014 // Survivors of one of Australia’s deadliest wildfires are to be awarded nearly A$500 million (US$467.5 million) in a class action settlement reached Tuesday, the largest such compensation in the nation’s...
7 More Small Earthquakes Shake Central Oklahoma
Jul 15 2014 // The U.S. Geological Survey on July 13 recorded seven small earthquakes shaking central Oklahoma in a span of about 14 hours. The temblors are part of an increase in earthquakes across Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas that some...
Lightning Strikes Spark Wildfires Across Oregon
Jul 15 2014 // A Southern Oregon wildfire destroyed six homes and 14 other buildings, and dozens of additional blazes ignited after thousands of lightning strikes lashed the state. The Moccasin Hill fire began Sunday near the ranching...
Typhoon Rammasun Targets the Philippines; AccuWeather Report
Jul 15 2014 // A bulletin from the AccuWeather Global Weather Center reports that “Typhoon Rammasun is on track to threaten the Philippines Tuesday and Wednesday. “Rammasun strengthened back to a tropical storm early Sunday...
Midwest Bank Destroyed by Tornado to Rebuild in Nebraska Town
Jul 14 2014 // Midwest Bank has announced it will rebuild its branch in Pilger, Neb., that was destroyed in June by a tornado that leveled much of the northeast Nebraska town. Doug Johnson, president and chief executive officer of...
Oklahoma Once Again Rattled by Earthquake Swarm
Jul 14 2014 // The U.S. Geological Survey says at least four earthquakes have rattled central Oklahoma, including a 4.3-magnitude temblor near Langston. The earthquake struck shortly after noon on July 12 about five miles southwest of...
Crops Flattened, Windows Shattered in Nebraska Hailstorm
Jul 14 2014 // Calls have gone out to glass and siding companies and insurance agents after a barrage of hail left a trail of broken windows, damaged houses and ravaged farm fields in parts of western and central Nebraska. Hailstones as...
Damage Estimate in Texas Hailstorm Pegged at $400M
Jul 11 2014 // The June 12 hail storm in Abilene, Texas, is expected to hit $400 million in insured losses to vehicles, homes and commercial property, the Insurance Council of Texas reports. It was the second catastrophic hailstorm this...
New Orleans’ Mayor During Hurricane Katrina Gets 10-Year Sentence for Fraud
Jul 11 2014 // Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin entered City Hall as a cool and confident self-styled reformer, won fame there as a passionate, if profane, critic of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and exited under...
Washington Wildfire Grows, Evacuations Ordered
Jul 11 2014 // One central Washington wildfire has burned across 28 square miles in just two days while another has broken out in hot, dry conditions. The Mills Canyon fire near Entiat has burned across more than 18,000 acres since it...
Cleanup From Deadly Thunderstorms Gets Underway in Eastern States
Jul 10 2014 // Residents of this rural central New York town on Wednesday picked through debris from homes battered by a deadly tornado, and utility crews worked to restore power in several Eastern states hit by severe storms. In all,...
Pinpointing Hurricane Risk Home by Home
Jul 10 2014 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Analysis Shows More Than 6.5 Million U.S. Homes Valued at Nearly $1.5 Trillion at Risk of Hurricane Storm Surge Damage This year, we’re ushering in the 2014...
State Farm Increases Hurricane Deductible in Louisiana to 5%
Jul 10 2014 // One month into the hurricane season, State Farm’s 308,000 Louisiana homeowner’s customers are confronting an unpleasant change: their policies now include a mandatory 5 percent hurricane deductible. State Farm...
6.5 Million Homes from Maine to Texas at Risk for Storm Surge: CoreLogic
Jul 10 2014 // More than 6.5 million homes along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at risk of storm surge inundation, representing nearly $1.5 trillion in total potential reconstruction costs. More than $986 billion of that risk is...
