Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricane Isaac Soaks Gulf Coast, Tests Levees
Aug 29 2012 // Hurricane Isaac drove water over the top of a levee on the outskirts of New Orleans on Wednesday, but the multibillion-dollar barriers built to protect the city itself after the 2005 Katrina disaster were not breached,...
Hurricane Isaac Hits Fortified New Orleans on Katrina’s Anniversary
Aug 29 2012 // Hurricane Isaac lashed southern Louisiana with high winds and heavy rains on Wednesday and was set for a late-morning arrival in New Orleans, seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. Isaac is the...
Tropical Storm Bolaven Makes Landfall in North Korea: AIR Analysis
Aug 29 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, after weakening to borderline tropical storm/typhoon strength (120 km/h [75 mph] 10-minute sustained winds), Typhoon Bolaven made landfall in North Korea north of...
Isaac Now a Hurricane: Update
Aug 28 2012 // The National Hurricane Center says the center of what is now Hurricane Isaac may make landfall on the southeast Louisiana coastline as early as this evening. Not all forecasters share that timeline, however. Dr. Tim...
Isaac Becomes a Hurricane As It Churns Toward New Orleans
Aug 28 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened into a hurricane just off the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday as it churned toward landfall in the New Orleans area seven years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Isaac’s...
Arkansas in Forecast Zone for Tropical Storm Isaac
Aug 28 2012 // Arkansas is expected to see wind and rain from Tropical Storm Isaac, which is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. Meteorologist Matthew Clay at the National Weather Service Office in North Little Rock...
Isaac Blows Past Florida Keys with Little Damage
Aug 28 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac rolled over the open Gulf of Mexico on Monday, where it was expected to grow into a hurricane before hitting land somewhere between Louisiana and Florida and close to the seventh anniversary of...
Alabama Coast Evacuated for Isaac; Georgia Warned on Flooding, Tornadoes
Aug 28 2012 // Coastal Alabama is under a mandatory evacuation order as Isaac churns through the Gulf of Mexico. Gov. Robert Bentley ordered residents of southern Baldwin and Mobile counties to begin evacuating starting 8 a.m. Monday,...
Near-Hurricane Strength Isaac Takes Aim at New Orleans
Aug 28 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac was near hurricane force as it bore down on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday and was expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane...
Typhoon Bolaven Strikes Okinawa; Heads for South Korea: AIR Analysis
Aug 28 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Bolaven made landfall on northern Okinawa around 12:00 UTC on August 26, as a strong category 3 typhoon, as calculated by the Japan Meteorological Agency...
Louisiana Governor Urging Voluntary Evacuation Along Coast
Aug 27 2012 // With the National Hurricane Center showing Tropical Storm Isaac tracking northwest toward southeast Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency and is encouraging residents of coastal parishes to...
New Jersey Looks Back on Tropical Storm Irene One Year Later
Aug 27 2012 // New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s blunt warning a year ago to “get the hell off the beach!” kicked off what became the costliest natural disaster in the state’s history, causing more than $1 billion...
Update: Isaac Menaces Gulf States; Forces Evacuations, Closings; Serious Flooding Feared
Aug 27 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac closed in on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast on Monday, triggering some mandatory evacuation orders and disrupting U.S. offshore oil production as it threatened to make landfall between Florida and...
TS Isaac Drenches Haiti, Cuba; Turns West in Gulf of Mexico: AIR Analysis
Aug 27 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Tropical Storm Isaac made landfall about 40 miles [64 kms] east of Guantanamo, Cuba, on Sunday with sustained winds of 60 mph [96 km/h]. AIR said Isaac’s...
Powerful Typhoon Bolaven Nears Japan’s Okinawa Island
Aug 27 2012 // The strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years was bearing down on the southern Japanese island on Sunday as residents were told to stay indoors and warned its strong gusts could overturn cars and cause waves...
N.Y. Distributed $574M in Post-Hurricane Irene, TS Lee Aid So Far
Aug 24 2012 // New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday marked the upcoming one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee by issuing a comprehensive report – “NY Responds.” The report says more than...
Tropical Storm Isaac Threatens Haiti; Oil Rigs Shut; Southeast Prepares
Aug 24 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac strengthened on Friday as it took aim at flood-prone Haiti, but it was not expected to become a hurricane until it barreled into the Gulf of Mexico early next week. On its current path, forecasters...
Typhoon Tembin Approaching Taiwan: AIR Analysis
Aug 24 2012 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Tembin, the 14th of the 2012 Pacific season, is “heading slowly for southern Taiwan, and is expected to make landfall in the early morning of Friday,...
Joplin Tornado Spurs Change in Missouri Mutual Insurance Rules
Aug 23 2012 // State regulators say mutual insurance companies that provide property coverage to rural Missourians will be financially stronger because of a new reinsurance requirement. Missouri Department of Insurance reports that a new...
Weak Earthquake Shakes Colorado Mountains
Aug 23 2012 // A weak earthquake has hit the Colorado mountains. The National Earthquake Information Center says the quake Tuesday afternoon registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.3. It was centered north of Basalt and south of...
