Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Guy Carpenter Analyzes Q1 Cat Bond Market Activity
Apr 15 2009 // “The catastrophe bond market is weathering the effects of the global financial downturn while maintaining a strong issuance pipeline for the remainder of 2009,” according to a briefing published on...
Tennessee Tornadoes Took 2 Lives, Damaged 500 Buildings
Apr 15 2009 // The National Weather Service has upgraded the strength of a tornado that killed a woman and her infant daughter when it hit Murfreesboro last week and said a second tornado touched down in the county. The weather service...
Maryland Woman Sentenced in Hurricane Katrina Theft
Apr 15 2009 // The U.S. Attorney’s Office says a former Maryland resident has been sentenced for stealing $60,200 in Hurricane Katrina disaster relief benefits. Forty-two-year-old Schewanda Baptiste, formerly of Waldorf, was...
Governor Requests Emergency Declaration for 199 Texas Counties
Apr 14 2009 // Texas Governor Rick Perry has requested FEMA to issue an emergency declaration for 199 Texas counties based on the threat of wildfires. Perry also has authorized additional state resources to combat the ongoing wildfires...
Mena, Ark., Recovers From Tornado; 600 Homes Damaged or Destroyed
Apr 13 2009 // Arkansas National Guard soldiers and state prisoner work crews in Mena, Ark., removed debris April 11 while firefighters and volunteers from all over pitched in to help residents recover from a devastating tornado and...
Oklahoma Commissioner Declares Emergency After Wildfires
Apr 13 2009 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has declared a state of emergency to allow insurance companies to more rapidly respond to the recent Oklahoma wildfires. The declaration enables emergency adjusters to be...
UPDATE: 1 in 4 Homes Damaged by Italian Quake Says RMS
Apr 10 2009 // Risk Management Solutions’ latest bulletin on the devastating earthquake, which struck Italy on Monday, estimates that “at least one in four homes in the epicentral area of L’Aquila have been...
Wildfires Burn Tens of Thousands of Acres Across Texas
Apr 10 2009 // Smoke from wildfires burning across North and West Texas is blowing into Austin and other locations in the center of the state, and Dallas-area residents are under an air-quality warning as a result of the fires. The Texas...
Tornadoes Give Mo. Businesses Insurance, Record-Keeping Lessons
Apr 10 2009 // Businesses in Southwest Missouri learned a lot about insurance, record-keeping and personal safety from tornadoes that tore through the area last spring. In many ways, walking into Bill Lant’s feed store in Seneca,...
Much Anticipated Windstorm Insurance Debate Begins in Texas
Apr 9 2009 // Texas legislators finally have jumped into debate over how to improve the troubled windstorm insurance system that serves as a last resort for hurricane protection along much of the Gulf Coast. The House Insurance...
P/C Insurers Profitable in 2008; Take Hit From Catastrophes, Financial Crisis
Apr 9 2009 // Property/casualty insurers remained profitable in 2008 despite taking hits from several catastrophes, the recession and the ongoing financial crisis. P/C insurers earned $2.4 billion in net income after taxes in 2008, but...
AIR Reaches $10 Billion Cat Bond Modeling Milestone
Apr 7 2009 // Boston’s AIR Worldwide Corporation announced that it has provided risk modeling and analytical services for more than 10 billion dollars in insurance-linked securities since 1996 and over 56 percent of total...
Guy Carpenter: Rates Rising on U.S. Property Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 7 2009 // A new industry briefing shows reinsurance rates continuing to increase for the U.S. property-catastrophe reinsurance market for April 1, 2009 renewals. According to Guy Carpenter & Co.’s “Rates Up on...
U.S. Forecaster Lowers Atlantic Hurricane Prediction
Apr 7 2009 // Citing cooler seas and the prospect of a weak El Nino, Colorado State University’s hurricane team lowered its 2009 Atlantic forecast Tuesday to 12 tropical storms, of which six could become hurricanes. The research...
Texas Wildfire Destroys Homes; Firefighters Hurt by Smoke Inhalation
Apr 6 2009 // The Texas Forest Services says 24 firefighters have been treated for smoke inhalation from fighting Texas wildflires, near the Panhandle town of Wheeler, where four homes have been lost and an estimated 20 homes damaged in...
Cat 5 Litigation in the Forecast?
Apr 6 2009 // As 2008 Hurricane Claims Enter Court and New Season Approaches, Katrina Issues Linger The 2008 hurricane season was the sixth most active tropical storm season recorded since data collection began in 1851. Six storms made...
Alaska’s Volcano Erruptions Could Last For Months
Apr 3 2009 // Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano eruptions, which to date have included 18 explosions and the non-stop emission of gases and ash, could last for several months, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists at the...
Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake Shakes Northern California, Reveals New Fault
Apr 2 2009 // A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck near Santa Clara Valley Calif., this week near Mt. Hamilton, revealing a fault scientists did not know existed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. According to...
Florida Senate Postpones Vote on Catastrophe Funding Bill
Apr 2 2009 // A Senate committee searching for ways to improve Florida’s shaky property insurance situation and lower the state’s risk recommended borrowing money from the state retirement system to obtain some short-term...
Arizona’s Wildfire Season Poses Many Risks for Homeowners
Apr 1 2009 // As the drought in the Southwest worsens, the wildfire season in Arizona grows longer, burning more acreage and threatening private property in forested areas. “The Arizona State Forestry Division estimates more than...
