Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
CCRIF Named Re/Insurance Initiative of the Year
Sep 8 2008 // The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) has been honored as the “Re/Insurance Initiative of the Year” at the 2008 Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards. It’s the first such recognition for...
Florida Closes Last Hurricane Gustav Shelter
Sep 8 2008 // The last American Red Cross shelter in Florida for Hurricane Gustav evacuees closed Sept. 6. As Hurricane Ike moves in from the west, Florida evacuees from Hurricane Gustav are finally able to return home. Craig Fugate,...
Weather, Fuel, Chief Factors in ’07 Idaho Wildfire
Sep 8 2008 // A state and federal report concluded that last summer’s lightning- and cheatgrass-stoked Murphy Complex fire that torched 1,000 square miles of Idaho and Nevada backcountry would have overwhelmed efforts by ranchers...
4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Northern Nevada
Sep 8 2008 // An earthquake has shaken the area around Swedes Place in northern Nevada. The U.S. Geological Survey’s preliminary report put the quake at a 4.1-magnitude. The temblor hit just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6,...
Army Corp of Engineers Wins Flood Fight During Hurricane Gustav
Sep 8 2008 // No breaches. Limited brash talk. No “no word” from the Army Corps of Engineers. Few foul ups. Clear risk analysis. And the flood fight got done during Hurricane Gustav. Under a microscope since the catastrophic...
Hurricane Ike over Cuba, Heading for US Gulf Coast
Sep 8 2008 // Hurricane Ike is not yet weakening over Cuba and will likely reach the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane before taking aim at the oil-rich Texas-Louisiana coast later in the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center...
Tropical Storm Hanna Landfalls in Carolinas, Ike Threatens Florida
Sep 7 2008 // Tropical Storm Hanna blew ashore over tourist beaches on the North-South Carolina border early on Sept. 6 at the start of a projected dash up the Eastern Seaboard. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hanna’s...
Hurricane Ike Threatens Bahamas; Hanna Death Toll Grows
Sep 5 2008 // Powerful Hurricane Ike weakened slightly as it moved across the Atlantic toward the Bahamas and the U.S. on Thursday, while Tropical Storm Hanna’s death toll from floods in Haiti grew to 136. Campgrounds were closed...
GOP Platform Calls for Natural Disaster Insurance Reform
Sep 5 2008 // The Republican National Committee pledged its support to improve federal natural disaster insurance as part of its platform. The GOP’s support of federal disaster insurance reform follows the Democratic National...
Colorado Forecasters Call for Four Hurricanes in September
Sep 5 2008 // Colorado hurricane researchers are forecasting five tropical storms in the Atlantic in September, including four hurricanes, two of them major. Former Colorado State University climatologist William Gray said that would be...
Reinsurers Under Pressure in Monte Carlo
Sep 5 2008 // Darker economic clouds are gathering over the world’s reinsurers as they travel to the Mediterranean coast this weekend to kick-off crucial pricing discussions with their insurance clients in Monte Carlo. Reinsurers...
Ike on Deck, Florida Gov. Declares Statewide Emergency
Sep 5 2008 // In what has developed into a proactive preparedness pattern, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced another in a series of emergency declarations in the face of oncoming hurricanes and tropical storms — this time in...
Hanna Heading for U.S. – Ike Now a Category 4 Hurricane
Sep 4 2008 // Tropical storm Hanna is on the verge of regaining hurricane strength, as it slowly approaches the U.S. mainland. The latest update from Miami’s National Hurricane Center indicates that “maximum sustained winds...
Hurricane Ike Strengthens Rapidly; Hanna Expected to Hit U.S. Saturday
Sep 4 2008 // Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into a fiercely dangerous Category 4 hurricane in the open Atlantic Wednesday and Tropical Storm Hanna intensified to a lesser degree as it swirled over the Bahamas toward the southeast...
AIR Analyzes Atlantic Hurricane Activity
Sep 3 2008 // According to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, storm development in the tropical Atlantic was even more active on Tuesday than it was on Monday. AIR noted that “shortly after Gustav came ashore in...
Hurricane Gustav Surge Floods Mississippi Casino
Sep 3 2008 // The ground floor of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Biloxi’s casino row was flooded during the storm surge from Gustav and wind-whipped water continued to splash into its parking garage on the afternoon of Sept....
S&P, Best: Gustav’s Impact Minimal – But Storm Losses are Cumulative
Sep 3 2008 // Both Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and A.M. Best have issued statements following the passage of Hurricane Gustav, which indicate that the storm’s impact on the industry will not be nearly as severe...
USAA Responding to Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana
Sep 3 2008 // A team of 350 catastrophe adjusters and support personnel with USAA are headed to areas of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Gustav. The company’s catastrophe headquarters are planned for Baton Rouge and two satellite...
Gustav only Sideswipes New Orleans
Sep 3 2008 // New Orleans can get back to its comeback. Traumatized after losing their homes when Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters broke through the levees that protect this city, Hurricane Gustav ended up a mere interruption in...
Missouri National Guard Travels to Louisiana After Hurricane Gustav
Sep 3 2008 // After more than 24 hours on road, a 25-vehicle convoy from the Missouri National Guard arrived on Monday, September 1 in northern Louisiana only hours after Hurricane Gustav hit land farther south, skirting much of New...
