Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Why OSHA Is Investigating Amazon Worker Deaths at Illinois Building Hit by Tornado
Dec 14 2021 // EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The U.S. workplace safety watchdog is investigating the circumstances around the collapse during Friday night’s storm of an Amazon.com Inc building in Illinois in which six workers died, an...
Tornadoes That Ripped Across Central U.S. Could Be Costliest Outbreak on Record
Dec 13 2021 // A group of tornadoes that tore across the central U.S. on December 10 and 11 resulted in widespread damage in several states and could serve as the nation’s costliest tornado outbreak on record. “Based on...
Tornados Leave 2 Dead in Arkansas; Governor Says State Avoided Worst of Storm
Dec 13 2021 // Two people were killed in northeastern Arkansas as tornadoes struck several states in the region, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Saturday, Dec. 11 in Monette. One person at Monette Manor nursing home in Monette and one person...
From Wildfires to Floods, Climate Change Worsens Extreme Weather Across Globe
Dec 13 2021 // Extreme weather events in 2021 shattered records around the globe. Hundreds died in storms and heatwaves. Farmers struggled with drought, and in some cases with locust plagues. Wildfires set new records for carbon...
Crews Continue Searching for Missing After Tornadoes Ravage Communities
Dec 13 2021 // Rescuers combed through fields of wreckage after a tornado outbreak roared across the middle of the U.S., leaving dozens dead and communities in despair. A twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record as...
Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake Shakes North-Central Kansas
Dec 9 2021 // A moderate earthquake shook parts of north-central Kansas on Dec. 8 as residents were starting their day, officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday,...
Wrapping up Hurricane Season: Ida, Katrina, and the Importance of Adequate Loss Modeling
Dec 9 2021 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. With the 2021 hurricane season coming to an end, insurers and government agencies are beginning to take stock of what occurred and how damages stacked up compared to...
Evacuation Orders Lifted for Central Colorado Wildfire
Dec 7 2021 // Firefighters made progress containing a 15-acre wildfire in a central Colorado mountain community as authorities lifted evacuation orders Monday for residents who were forced to leave their homes a day earlier. Clear Creek...
Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Renewal Rates to Rise by More Than 10%: Fitch
Dec 7 2021 // Reinsurance rates are expected to increase by more than 10% in catastrophe-related lines of business when contracts are renewed in January 2022, which supports an improving sector outlook for 2022, according to Fitch...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Committee Recommends Willis Re for Reinsurance Broker
Dec 7 2021 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association’s Actuarial & Underwriting Committee met on December 6 to review best and final offers from respondents to the Association’s request for proposals for reinsurance...
Climate Modeling Confirms Historical Records Showing Rise in Hurricane Activity
Dec 6 2021 // New results show North Atlantic hurricanes have increased in frequency over the last 150 years Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office When forecasting how storms may change in the future, it helps to know something about their...
Insured Price Tag for Europe Windstorm Hendrik-Ignatz (Aurore) Estimated at €311M
Dec 3 2021 // Initial insured losses for extratropical windstorm “Hendrik-Ignatz,” also known as “Aurore,” are estimated at €311 million ($352 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based...
14 Insurers Pressing Lawsuit vs. Park Service After Gatlinburg Wildfires
Dec 2 2021 // Fourteen insurance companies are pressing ahead with a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that the National Park Service did little to stop 2016 wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes and businesses in and...
M3.0 Earthquake Confirmed in Southern Utah
Nov 30 2021 // A minor earthquake struck parts of southern Utah, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The quake struck on Friday morning, had a preliminary magnitude of 3.0 and was centered about 7 miles west of Panguitch, the USGS...
Some Lessons Learned from Wildfire That Nearly Destroyed Tahoe
Nov 30 2021 // The devastation starts on the western slope. Many of the cabins that once lined the highway between here and Sacramento are now gone. Instead, brick and stone chimneys stand sentinel, visible through blackened toothpick...
Oklahoma High Court Rules National American Off Hook in Earthquake Lawsuits
Nov 29 2021 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled last week that an earth-movement exclusion precludes insurance coverage for an oil and gas company facing several lawsuits accusing its operations of causing earthquakes. National American...
Insurtech Startup Kettle Raises $25M to Expand Wildfire Reinsurance Protection
Nov 24 2021 // Kettle, the San Francisco-based reinsurance startup that uses artificial intelligence to better protect people from the growing wildfire risks of climate change, announced it has been reinsuring homes during the 2021...
Louisiana Kicks Off $11 Million Housing Program for Hurricane Laura
Nov 24 2021 // Nearly 15 months after Hurricane Laura struck, Louisiana is kicking off $11.3 million in housing repair and rebuilding programs for the southwestern city of Lake Charles while it waits for hundreds of millions in promised...
Deadline Nears for FEMA Aid for Hurricane Ida
Nov 22 2021 // Louisiana residents impacted by Hurricane Ida’s destruction in August have a week remaining to seek individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The deadline for individuals and families to...
People Moves: SiriusPoint Appoints Bernina Re’s Kull as CRO; Hiscox Names Breeze Interim CFO; Tysers’ Simpson Leads BMS’ Terrorism, Political Violence Team
Nov 18 2021 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at re/insurer SiriusPoint, insurer Hiscox and broker BMS. A summary of these new hires follows here. SiriusPoint Appoints Bernina Re’s Kull as...
