Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Weather Service Confirmed 15 Tornadoes Hit Georgia on Mother’s Day
May 16 2008 // The National Weather Service says that severe weather on May 11 spawned 15 tornadoes in central Georgia. The strongest of the so-called “Mother’s Day tornadoes” occurred in Treutlen County and was an EF3....
Arson-started Florida Wildfires Fueled by Growth
May 15 2008 // Wildfires that have gutted at least 40 homes along Florida’s Atlantic coast are believed to have been started by arsonists, but they got help from two classic Florida factors: rampant development and a year-round...
Feds Give Almost $5 Million to Rebuild N.D. Tornado Damaged School
May 15 2008 // State officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide nearly $5 million to rebuild the school in the town of Northwood after a tornado last August. The announcement came from the state’s...
AIR Estimates China Quake Insured Losses Likely to Exceed $300 Million
May 14 2008 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued an estimate that total losses to insured and uninsured property from the M7.9 earthquake that struck near Chengdu, China will likely exceed RMB 140 billion ($20...
Rapid Coastal Growth Places Urgency on Hurricane Forecasts, Chief Says
May 14 2008 // The rapid pace of development along hurricane-prone coasts is adding a new level of urgency for forecasters to more accurately pinpoint potential storm impact zones, the director of the National Hurricane Center...
Recent Tornadoes Underscore Risks of Taking Shelter in Cars
May 14 2008 // Trapped in his car on the way to a friend’s wedding, Rick Rountree and his family never stood a chance once a tornado packing winds of 170 mph hit southwest Missouri. “It’s like taking a handful of...
Central Florida Wildfires Prompt Evacuations, Road Closures
May 13 2008 // Brush fires shut down roads in central Florida on May 11 and forced evacuations, authorities said. A portion of Interstate 95 in Brevard County was shut down because of heavy smoke from a blaze near Malabar, the Orlando...
Iowa City Considers Purchasing Earthquake Insurance
May 13 2008 // Some Iowa cities have earlthquake coverage so it was not that surprising that city leaders in Johnston are considering earthquake insurance in the wake of two tremors this spring in Illinois and Missouri. City Finance...
Small Mississippi Earthquake Shakes Belden Area
May 13 2008 // Officials with the National Weather Service in Memphis and Lee County E-911 say an earthquake caused no injuries after it hit the Belden, Miss. area on May 10. A dispatcher for 911, Tanya Mayo, says the earthquake...
First American Spatial Solutions Releases Flood Catastrophe Model
May 13 2008 // First American Spatial Solutions launched its new U.S. flood catastrophe model, a key component of its suite of advanced flood risk solutions, which includes geospatial analytics, basic flood data, flood risk scoring and...
Damages Mount, Again, in Storm-battered South Central States
May 13 2008 // As the town of Picher, Okla., begins to climb out of the wreckage of the deadly tornado that swept across Southeastern Oklahoma and into Missouri and beyond over the May 10 weekend, some are predicting that the town may...
Tornados in Southwestern Missouri Kill 15; Governor Calls in National Guard
May 12 2008 // Category K-4 tornadoes that cut across three states on Saturday (May 10) night killed 15 people in southwestern Missouri. The hardest areas hit were in rural southwestern Missouri about eight miles north of Senaca and 10...
North Carolina Teams Assess Tornado-affected Counties
May 12 2008 // North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley dispatched damage assessment teams comprised of state and local officials to Jones and Bertie counties to begin the process of assessing damage from the storm that swept through the area on...
Argo Group Offers Hurricane Insurance in Hawaii
May 12 2008 // Hawaii Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt announced the formation of a partnership between Argo Group US and First Insurance Company of Hawai’i (FICOH). The new joint venture will offer hurricane insurance to First...
Virginia to Hold First Tax Holiday for Hurricane Preparedness
May 12 2008 // Virginians looking to prepare for hurricane season can thank the state for an upcoming tax holiday on items to keep their families ready in case of a storm. Virginia is holding its first hurricane preparedness tax holiday...
U.S. Tornadoes Take at Least 21 Lives, Destroy Homes, Power Lines
May 12 2008 // Tornadoes killed at least 21 people and injured hundreds as they ripped through the central and southeastern United States over the weekend, destroying homes, overturning cars and downing trees and power lines. Authorities...
Mississippi Emergency Agency Reports Damage in Latest Round of Tornadoes
May 9 2008 // Severe weather and tornadoes moved through several North Mississippi counties on May 8 causing damage to property and infrastructure. The state emergency operations center in Pearl, Miss. posted initial damage reports in...
One Year after Tornado, Greensburg Still Struggling to Survive
May 9 2008 // Unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, one year after a devastating tornado destroyed their town, many in Greensburg, Kan. are still not able to go home. Some 700 residents remain in the town that once had a population of...
AIR Analyzes Tokyo Earthquake
May 9 2008 // AIR Worldwide has released an analysis of a strong earthquake that struck just off the Japanese island of Honshu on Wednesday. The trembler rattled buildings in downtown Tokyo and briefly cut power to thousands of...
University Research Aims to Improve Tornado Predictions
May 8 2008 // Three hot-air balloons dropped asphalt shingles, lumber, sticks, leaves and pine needles onto a north Alabama landfill, so scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville could gather data needed to improve tornado...
