Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
‘Sandy’ Officially Retired from List of Atlantic Storm Names
Apr 16 2013 // “Sandy has been retired from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee because of the extreme impacts it caused from Jamaica and...
FBI Calls Boston Marathon Bombings ‘Potential’ Terrorist Act
Apr 15 2013 // The FBI said the investigation of the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon is a “criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” The FBI, with Special Agent Richard...
Experts: 1953 Indiana Tornado Damage Would Be Worse Today
Apr 11 2013 // A deadly tornado that swept through east central Indiana 60 years ago could cause much more destruction if it swept through today because of suburban sprawl. The April 9, 1953, twister originated in Illinois and ended near...
Alabama Museum Exhibit Recalls 2011 Tornadoes
Apr 11 2013 // An oral history of the tornadoes that devastated Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area on April 27, 2011, will be exhibited later this month at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum. The exhibit,...
2013 Hurricane Prediction: 72% Chance on East Coast; 48% for Florida
Apr 10 2013 // The Colorado State University team is predicting an above-average 2013 Atlantic basin hurricane season with 18 named storms and a 72 percent chance one will make landfall somewhere along the entire Eastern seaboard. Nine...
Houma, Louisiana Floodgate to Be Ready for Hurricane Season
Apr 10 2013 // The flow of the Houma Navigation Canal in Louisiana completely stopped recently for the first time in the waterway’s 50-year existence. The door of the Bubba Dove Floodgate was connected and fully closed as part of...
Pension Funds Looking for Higher Yields from Cat Bonds
Apr 9 2013 // Pension funds are turning to specialist bonds that bet on the likelihood of a natural disaster, in a search for yield and returns that are not correlated to the rest of the market. What was once considered an exotic...
Hurricane Center Learns Lesson from Sandy; Changes Warnings
Apr 8 2013 // Responding to criticism after Superstorm Sandy, the National Hurricane Center says it will change the way it warns people about tropical storms that morph into something else. At the height of Sandy, as the hurricane...
Insurance Covered Half of U.S. Disaster Costs in 2012: Swiss Re
Apr 8 2013 // Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters caused $186 billion in economic losses globally in 2012 and took approximately 14,000 lives, according to global insurer Swiss Re’s latest sigma study. The United States...
Aon Benfield Cat Report: Severe Winter Causes $1.8bn Econ. Loss in Europe
Apr 5 2013 // The latest catastrophe report for the month of March from Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, highlights the sub-freezing temperatures across Europe, which have...
Report Praises Response To Deadly Colorado Wildfire
Apr 4 2013 // A review of the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history released Wednesday found much to praise and few problems in the way Colorado Springs agencies responded. Investigators say the June 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire on...
Contractor Sued Over Joplin Tornado Waste
Apr 3 2013 // Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is suing a southwest Missouri company for allegedly dumping tornado waste from Joplin into an abandoned mine shaft. Koster on April 1 announced the suit against Bryan Weldon and...
April is Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawaii
Apr 3 2013 // Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie named April 2013 Tsunami Awareness Month. Abercrombie held a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday to sign the proclamation. Several agencies participated in the ceremony, including the...
Forecaster Gray Sees Active Hurricane Season Ahead
Apr 3 2013 // Forecaster William Gray said he expects a very active hurricane season, but he’s not yet giving likely numbers of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes. Gray told hundreds of people at the National Hurricane...
AIR Worldwide Announces New Public Risk Services Group
Apr 3 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has announced the availability of Public Risk Services, which it describes as a “new consulting service to support the needs of public sector institutions and stakeholders...
Georgia Residents Recall Tornado of 40 Years Ago
Apr 3 2013 // Like many people who lived in Athens, Georgia at the time, Anne Shepherd clearly remembers March 31, 1973 — the day the tornado hit. Shepherd, owner of downtown’s Chick Music store, had gone out to a house on North...
State Intelligence Report Highlights Threats to Texas
Apr 2 2013 // While organized crime is seen as the most significant public safety threat in Texas, drunk driving, natural disasters, terrorism, industrial accidents and cyber security also are among the major threats that keep lawmakers...
ImpactWeather: Hurricanes in 2013 Will Be More Severe Than in 2012
Mar 29 2013 // Houston-based ImpactWeather predicts that 2013 will bring a series of hurricanes more severe than 2012. In an announcement released by the company, Senior ImpactWeather Meteorologist Chris Hebert provided the following...
Loss from Tennessee Wildfire Estimated at $12 MIllion
Mar 29 2013 // Sevier County, Tennessee authorities estimate the loss in a wildfire earlier this month at about $12 million. The Mountain Press reported the figure includes only the value of the cabins destroyed or damaged in the March...
Earthquake Rattles Central Taiwan; Causes Minor Damage: AIR Worldwide
Mar 29 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports that a “magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck central Taiwan on March 27, 2013, at 10:03 a.m. local time (02:03:20 UTC). With its epicenter located at 23.840° North latitude...
