extreme weather News

Update: Flood Death Toll Rises as Europe Counts Cost of Storm Boris

Floods ripped through central Europe killing at least 17 people, as governments across the region took emergency measures and prepared to spend hundreds of millions of euros on the cleanup. Flows in the Danube — Europe’s second-longest river — were …

Canada’s Wildfire Season Ranks Among Worst but Less Severe Than Feared

With summer drawing to a close in Canada, the 2024 wildfire season is shaping up as one of the most destructive on record, largely due to the devastation caused by a blaze that ripped through a tourist town in the …

Built-Up Cities Get More Rain Than Rural Outskirts, Study Finds

Cities often get more rain and experience extreme rainfall more often compared to surrounding areas, a new study finds, a phenomenon that compounds other risk factors for urban flooding. Of the more than 1,000 cities around the world that the …

Risks Too Big for Insurers Just Fed a $200 Billion Market Boom in Captives

As the market for in-house insurance surpasses a record $200 billion, the underlying reasons for that boom show how a hotter, less stable planet is redrawing the risk map for corporations. Captive insurance, where companies create their own coverage vehicles, …

Canada’s 10 Worst Natural Disasters Totaled C$30 Billion in Annual Insured Losses

Insured losses have surged in the past decade as climate change in Canada sparks wildfires, intense hailstorms and thunderstorms with severe flooding in major cities. Insured losses from natural disasters averaged C$2.2 billion ($1.63 billion) a year over the last …

Canada’s Insurance Sector Faces Deluge of Climate-Related Catastrophe Claims

Hotter summers in Canada that have sparked wildfires in tourist areas, intense hailstorms and thunderstorms with severe flooding in major cities, all likely linked to climate change, are leading to personnel shortages and potentially claims adjustment delays, according to insurance …

Hedge Fund Fermat Says Returns Took a Hit Amid Catastrophe Bond Selloff

Fermat Capital Management, one of the world’s biggest investors in catastrophe bonds, says anxiety about this year’s hurricane season has already left a meaningful dent on returns. “Returns in May were low and even negative for a lot of funds,” …

Storm Warnings Issued Across Southern Europe – From Italy to Serbia

Thunderstorm alerts are in place for a swath of Europe from the south of France to the Balkans. There are orange warnings for Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany and Umbria in Italy, as the summer heat gives way to violent storms. Serbia …

Blackouts in Extreme Weather Create Demand for Cleaner Backup Power

Software engineer Kenna Ofoegbu in Houston, Texas tries hard to keep his three kids cool during the summer and that means air conditioning. Yet their house has lost power three times in just the past two and a half months. …

Remnants of Hurricane Ernesto Trigger Wind and Rain Warnings in Scotland

Yellow weather warnings are in place for Scotland on Thursday, as the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto bring strong winds and heavy rain. There’s an alert for rain across western Scotland, with more than 100 millimeters (4 inches) forecast for higher …