natural catastrophes News

Australia Urges Residents in Northeast to Evacuate on Flood Risk

Australian officials urged residents in the northeastern city of Townsville and adjacent areas to evacuate as torrential rains raised the risk of a flood disaster in the area. Some parts of the north in Queensland state have had more than …

Property-Catastrophe Reinsurance Rates Will Stop Dropping Post Wildfires: Execs

RenaissanceRe expects to incur about $750 million in losses from the January 2025 California wildfires—and anticipates that industrywide impacts should halt the drop in property-catastrophe reinsurance prices observed at 1/1. Kevin O’Donnell, president and chief executive officer, referencing an industrywide …

Australia Braces for Life-Threatening Floods as Six Storms Brew

Six storms around Australia and its territories are expected to strengthen in the coming days, with one system likely to trigger life-threatening flooding in the nation’s north and three others with at least a moderate chance to form into tropical …

Climate Change Makes Fierce Winter Storms Like Éowyn Even Stronger

Winter Storm Éowyn pummeled Ireland and the UK with hurricane-force winds on Friday, creating blackouts for hundreds of thousands and disrupting travel across northwestern Europe. Éowyn was one of the strongest storms to hit the region and likely set new …

LA Fires Could Consume 30% of European Reinsurers’ Natural Disaster Budgets: Fitch

The Los Angeles wildfires could consume more than 30% of the aggregate natural catastrophe budgets set for 2025 by Europe’s four largest reinsurers – Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re and SCOR, according to a Fitch Ratings commentary. Insured losses …

Storm Éowyn Leaves Thousands Without Power, Grounds Flights

Hurricane-strength winds battered Ireland and the UK early Friday morning, leaving thousands of homes and businesses without power and disrupting transportation across the region. Winter Storm Éowyn brought record gusts of 183 kilometers (114 miles) per hour in Galway in …

Storm Éowyn Set to Bring ‘Weather Bomb’ to UK and Ireland

Storm Éowyn will bring a “weather bomb” to Ireland and the UK, unleashing destructive winds and heavy rain, the Met Office forecaster said. People across Ireland were told to stay home Friday, with schools closing as severe weather warnings come …

Southern Taiwan Hit by 6.4 Magnitude Quake, TSMC Evacuates Some Factories

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous, rural area of Taiwan’s south on Tuesday near the city of Chiayi, the island’s weather administration said, with reports of minor damage. Chipmaker TSMC said it had evacuated staff at its factories in …

Will California’s FAIR Plan Have Enough Cash for Its Wildfire Claims?

There has been some question about whether California’s insurer of last resort – the FAIR Plan – has enough cash on hand to pay for its share of wildfire claims. As surplus is inadequate and reinsurance has a deductible that …

Cyber, Business Interruption, Natural Disasters Listed as Top 3 Business Risks: Allianz

Cyber, business interruption and natural catastrophes are the top three risks that concern global businesses, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025. Cyber incidents, such as ransomware attacks, data breaches and IT outages, is the top global risk for 2025, …