Latest Catastrophe Headlines

All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Update: Tropical Storm Imelda Makes Landfall on Texas Coast

Sep 17 2019 // A tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico that quickly upgraded into Tropical Storm Imelda has made landfall on the Texas coast near Freeport.The National Hurricane Center said the storm likely will produce...

Catastrophe Modelers: U.S. Insured Losses from Dorian Could Reach $1.5B in U.S.

Sep 17 2019 // Catastrophe modeling firms Karen Clark & Co. and RMS have released insured loss estimates for Hurricane Dorian, ranging from $500 million to $1.5 billion.According to KCC, Dorian reached peak intensity of 185 mph while...

Santa Ana Winds Return to California Bringing Wildfire Danger

Sep 16 2019 // The Santa Ana winds have returned to California, a signal to the state’s residents that the wildfire season has begun in earnest.The winds are created by high pressure over Nevada’s Great Basin as cool weather...

Insured Losses for Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$3B-US$7B: AIR Worldwide

Sep 16 2019 // Industry insured losses from Typhoon Faxai, which made landfall in Japan on Sept. 9, will be between 340 billion Japanese yen (US$3 billion) and 740 billion yen (USD 7 billion), estimated Boston-based catastrophe risk...

Humberto Strengthens into 3rd Atlantic Hurricane of 2019, Heading to Bermuda

Sep 16 2019 // Tropical storm Humberto has now intensified into the third Atlantic hurricane of 2019 with top sustained winds of 75 mph, according to weather.com meteorologists in a report issued on Sept. 15.The majority of the showers,...

North Carolina Gov Requests Hurricane Dorian Disaster Declaration

Sep 16 2019 // North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seeking a federal disaster declaration for 13 counties affected by Hurricane Dorian.Cooper made the request to President Donald Trump’s administration Friday. If approved, money...

When Billion Dollar Cyber Losses Strike: Guy Carpenter/CyberCube

Sep 16 2019 // As the cyber insurance market has continued its rapid growth, its loss vulnerabilities have become increasingly clear.A new report from Guy Carpenter and CyberCube Analytics has identified potential loss scenarios in the...

Tornadoes, Damaging Winds Reported in Michigan, Minnesota

Sep 13 2019 // The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through a cemetery in southeastern Minnesota.The EF-1 tornado with winds of 95 mph struck Woodlawn Cemetery in Winona early Wednesday. The tornado toppled trees and...

‘All Are Safe and Sound’ After Tornado Hits South Dakota Hospital

Sep 13 2019 // When the warning sounded shortly before midnight that a tornado could be approaching, the clock turned into a stopwatch for staff members working the night shift at a behavioral health center at a Sioux Falls...

Arkansas-Missouri Border Area Rattled by Earthquake

Sep 13 2019 // No damage or injuries have been reported after an early Thursday morning earthquake struck near the border of Missouri and Arkansas.The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.7-magnitude earthquake was recorded early on Sept....

PG&E Reaches $11B Settlement with Insurers Over California Wildfire Claims

Sep 13 2019 // Bankrupt California utility giant PG&E Corp. resolved a key battle by agreeing to pay $11 billion to settle insurance claims from wildfires blamed on its equipment. An even bigger struggle looms.The settlement with...

New Tropical Storm Threatens Bahamas and Could Set Sights on Eastern Florida

Sep 13 2019 // Tropical storm warnings have been declared for the Bahamas, which was just battered by Hurricane Dorian, evidence of strengthening in a system that forecasters say is moving toward Florida or the Gulf of Mexico.The storm...

Climate Change Tops List of World’s ‘Extreme Risks’

Sep 12 2019 // Global temperature change, global trade collapse and cyber warfare are the top three “extreme risks” identified in a study from Willis Towers Watson.The new paper out this month is part of the firm’s...

Texas Windstorm Insurer Names Actuarial/Underwriting Committee Members

Sep 12 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has identified appointees to its Actuarial/Underwriting Committee.The committee has historically developed recommendations to the TWIA Board concerning association rate filings,...

Buildings Damaged by Severe Weather, Including Likely Tornado, in South Dakota

Sep 12 2019 // Severe weather, including a probable tornado, struck South Dakota’s largest city late on Tuesday, leaving a trail of damaged buildings, downed power lines, fallen trees and some reports of injuries, officials...

Report: Texas Cities Included in Areas with Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage

Sep 12 2019 // In its 2019 Wildfire Risk report, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, CoreLogic, shows that across the nation nearly 776,000 homes with an associated reconstruction cost value of...

Report: $221B in Western U.S. Homes at Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage

Sep 12 2019 // Nearly 776,000 homes with a reconstruction cost value of more than $221 billion are at extreme risk of wildfire damage, a new report out Thursday shows.The 2019 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report examines single-family and...

Tornado Touched Down Near Portland, NWS Confirms

Sep 11 2019 // A storm cell that passed over Portland, Ore., prompted two tornado warnings after trained storm spotters saw funnel clouds north and south of the Columbia River.The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that forecasters said the...

FEMA Officials Arrested on Fraud Charges Linked to Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Aid

Sep 11 2019 // Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to...

Loss Creep Spells End to Soft Reinsurance Market: Guy Carpenter

Sep 10 2019 // Extended development from North American hurricane losses and losses from non-peak perils like California wildfires have finally jolted reinsurers out of a soft reinsurance market, according to a report from reinsurance...