Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Katrina at Two Years
Aug 20 2007 // $40.6 billion paid on 1.7 million insurance claims Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck, the “overwhelming majority of claims” in Gulf Coast states from her destruction have been settled in what has been...
No region of country is immune to wildland fires
Aug 20 2007 // Some states face tougher seasons than others but every state must deal with the threat Historically, the lion’s share of in-season wildland fires occurs in the country’s western regions, however, as evidenced...
News Currents
Aug 20 2007 // No region of country is immune to wildland fires Some states face tougher seasons than others but every state must deal with the threat Historically, the lion’s share of in-season wildland fires occurs in the...
Katrina at Two Years
Aug 20 2007 // Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck, the “overwhelming majority of claims” in Gulf Coast states from her destruction have been settled in what has been the single largest loss — $40.6 billion —...
Dean Becomes Season’s First Atlantic Hurricane
Aug 16 2007 // The Atlantic hurricane season has begun. The National Hurricane Center has designated Tropical Storm Dean, with winds up to 80 mph, as the first hurricane and issued a warning that it is headed for the Caribbean’s...
Tropical Storm, Hurricane a Wake-up Call for Coastal Residents
Aug 16 2007 // Tropical Storms Erin and Dean should serve as a wake-up call to anyone living along the Texas coast that hurricanes may not be too far away. “There is no better time than now to prepare evacuation plans and gather...
Development on Delaware Coast Raises Evacuation Concerns
Aug 15 2007 // The growing number of year-round residents in Delaware’s southern coastal communities has state officials concerned about evacuation plans for hurricanes and other natural disasters. Officials previously have...
U. of Fla. Researchers Halt Hurricane with Flick of Switch
Aug 15 2007 // Roaring winds top 100 mph and rains fall in heavy sheets, but Forrest Masters can stop the storm at the flick of a switch with his newly completed hurricane simulator. Masters and a group of University of Florida in...
Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake Jolts Hawaii’s Big Island
Aug 15 2007 // An earthquake on Monday jolted the Big Island of Hawaii, which is already under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning. The magnitude 5.3 temblor struck at 7:38 p.m. local time, about 25 miles south of Hilo,...
Hurricane Modeling Pioneer Clark Forms Consulting Company
Aug 14 2007 // Catastrophe modeling pioneer and founder of the firm AIR, Karen Clark, has formed a new firm—Karen Clark & Co.—to help companies better use catastrophe models in important risk management decisions. The Boston...
Category 4 Hurricane Flossie Keeps to Its Path Toward Hawaii
Aug 14 2007 // Hurricane Flossie roared toward Hawaii on Monday with its sustained wind increased to 140 mph, though forecasters said the Category 4 storm would weaken before passing by the islands. The hurricane was expected to pass...
Aggressive Wildfire Puts Firefighters on Defense in Idaho
Aug 14 2007 // Two cabins and a large outbuilding burned as wind-whipped flames flared 200 feet high Sunday on the Zena/Loon wildfire in north-central Idaho. No injuries were reported, but firefighters struggled to protect buildings in...
Fla. Cities can Apply for Hurricane Wilma Assistance
Aug 13 2007 // Additional federal money is being made available for home repairs in Florida communities affected by Hurricane Wilma almost two years ago, state officials said. The federal government is releasing a new $100 million...
Government Forecasters Join in Lowering Atlantic Hurricane Estimate… Slightly
Aug 10 2007 // Government forecasters have minimally reduced their prediction for the Atlantic hurricane season, but say that up to nine hurricanes and up to 16 tropical storms are expected to form, still a busier-than-average...
Lawmakers: Former Hurricane Center Head Should Get Old Job
Aug 9 2007 // If the ousted director of the National Hurricane Center is not allowed to return to his job, he should at least be assigned to his previous weather-related position, two lawmakers said Monday. U.S. Reps. Brad Miller,...
S&P Report Analyzes U.S. Insurers Hurricane Readiness
Aug 8 2007 // So far the U.S. hurricane season has been remarkable for its absence, but Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services questions whether that trend will continue. In a report, entitled “Are U.S. Insurers Ready If...
Gray Lowers Hurricance Forecast to 4 Intense Storms
Aug 8 2007 // Noted hurricane researcher William Gray from Colorado State University has lowered his 2007 forecast slightly, citing cooler water in the Pacific and more atmospheric dust from Africa in predicting 15 named storms and...
Katrina at Two Years: $40.6 Billion Paid on 1.7 Million Insurance Claims
Aug 7 2007 // Two years later, the “overwhelming majority of claims” in Gulf Coast states from Hurricane Katrina have been settled in what has been the single largest loss — $40.6 billion — in the history of the...
AIR Reports Modeling $3 Billion in Catastrophe Bonds To Date in 2007
Aug 7 2007 // AIR Worldwide Corp. reports that it has provided risk modeling and analytical services for more than $3 billion in insurance-linked securities to date this year, or nearly 70 percent of 2007 new issuances. So far in 2007...
Won’t go away from the water
Aug 6 2007 // Survey finds one-third on coast will resist evacuation According to a new survey of people in high-risk hurricane areas, one-third (31 percent) of residents said if government officials said they had to evacuate due to a...
