Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Medical Malpractice Payouts Not Driving Up Health Costs: Study
May 20 2013 // Efforts to lower health care costs in the United States have focused at times on demands to reform the medical malpractice system, with some researchers asserting that large, headline-grabbing and “frivolous”...
TRIA Debate Heats Up with Charge ‘Nervous Nelly’ P/C Insurers Enjoy $7B ‘Subsidy’
May 20 2013 // A consumer advocacy group says the property/casualty insurance industry has been getting a sweet deal worth about $7 billion as a result of the federal government’s program to help pay terrorism insurance claims...
May 16 Storm Produced 4 Tornadoes in Louisiana
May 19 2013 // A powerful thunderstorm in the afternoon on May 16 produced four tornadoes as it moved into Louisiana from Texas The National Weather Service, in a survey released Saturday, says all tornadoes had winds of 90 mph to 100...
NWS: At Least 16 Tornadoes in Recent North Texas Outbreak
May 17 2013 // At least 16 tornadoes have been confirmed in the outbreak in North Texas on May 15, federal weather officials say. Survey teams were sent to Johnson County, Hood County, Parker County, Ellis County and Montague County, the...
Florida Catastrophe Fund Financially Stronger on Eve of Hurricane Season
May 17 2013 // Florida is heading into a new storm season with some good news for once. The state-created fund that backs up private insurers in Florida is in the best financial shape it has been in years — maybe the best since it was...
UN: $2.5 Trillion in Global Disaster Losses Since 2000
May 17 2013 // Economic losses from disasters since 2000 are in the range of $2.5 trillion, a figure at least 50 percent higher than previous international estimates, according to a U.N. report. The U.N. Office for Disaster Risk...
NOAA Report Says Feds’ Warnings About Sandy Were Confusing
May 17 2013 // Federal weather forecasts for Superstorm Sandy were exceptionally accurate last fall, but the warnings themselves were confusing, an internal review found. The gigantic October storm lost tropical characteristics hours...
Tornadoes Spin Through Texas Towns After Dark, Killing Six
May 16 2013 // At least six people were killed and 100 injured when tornadoes ripped through north-central Texas after dark and authorities said the death toll could rise as rescuers search through the rubble of destroyed homes. At least...
Terrorism & Political Violence Map: Aon Risk Solutions
May 15 2013 // The continued threat of a terrorist attack or political violence worldwide persists and is not going away anytime soon. Despite 19 countries showing improved terrorism and political violence ratings, according to...
Wildfires Break Out Near Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas
May 15 2013 // Wildfires have led to evacuation of about 30 residences in a North Texas community where 2011 blazes destroyed dozens of homes amid the drought. The Texas A&M Forest Service reported grass fires that burned about 100...
Mississippi High School Suffered $7M in Tornado Damage
May 15 2013 // Lamar County (Mississippi) School District officials said a Feb. 10 tornado caused $7 million in damage to Oak Grove High and its baseball and football facilities. The Hattiesburg-American reported that the district has a...
Feds: Another Tough Wildfire Season For West
May 14 2013 // Fire officials are poised for a tough wildfire season after another dry winter across much of the West, and made more challenging because federal budget cuts mean fewer firefighters on the ground, Interior Secretary Sally...
Georgia Regulator to Host Hurricane Preparedness Expo on June 15
May 14 2013 // The hurricane season is almost here and Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens is inviting the public to attend the 12th Annual Hurricane Preparedness Expo on June 15.Photo credit: Georgia Office of Insurance and...
Business Frets at Terrorism Tag of Marathon Attack
May 13 2013 // President Barack Obama’s declaration that the Boston Marathon bombings were an act of terrorism could make it difficult for many affected businesses to be reimbursed for losses resulting from the explosions. Federal...
Hail Storm Damage to Mississippi Government Property Estimated at $25 Million
May 10 2013 // The Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy in Pearl isn’t the most aesthetically appealing place to train officers these days, its director, Pat Cronin, concedes. The March 18 hailstorms that struck...
TRIA Debate Heats Up with Charge ‘Nervous Nelly’ P/C Insurers Enjoy $7B ‘Subsidy’
May 9 2013 // A consumer advocacy group says the property/casualty insurance industry has been getting a sweet deal worth about $7 billion as a result of the federal government’s program to help pay terrorism insurance claims...
Hurricane Center Working to Improve Storm Surge Forecasts After Wet 2012
May 9 2013 // Last year’s hurricane season drove home some big lessons, according to the nation’s chief hurricane forecaster: Storm surge and flooding are dangerous and difficult to predict, and sometimes it’s even...
April Brought Fewer Tornadoes But Severe Hail, Floods to U.S.: Aon
May 8 2013 // Parts of the U.S. suffered severe hail and flooding damage during April, although there were fewer tornadoes than expected. Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model center at Aon Benfield, released its monthly Global...
Medical Malpractice Payouts Not Driving Up Health Costs: Study
May 8 2013 // Efforts to lower health care costs in the United States have focused at times on demands to reform the medical malpractice system, with some researchers asserting that large, headline-grabbing and “frivolous”...
Ongoing Dry Weather Raising New York Wildfire Danger
May 7 2013 // New York conservation officials say continuing dry weather has raised the danger of wildfires, advising rural and suburban residents that all residential brush burning is prohibited during the usually high fire risk period...
