Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Magnitude 3.9 Earthquake Struck Communities in Oregon
Jun 7 2021 // People in communities near Mt. Hood, Ore., reported feeling a moderate earthquake Saturday night, the Oregoniann/Oregonlive.com reported. The magnitude 3.9 earthquake hit less than four miles northeast of Government Camp,...
Close Calls in Colorado Spark Push for Wildfire Mitigation
Jun 7 2021 // As the Missionary Ridge Fire raged in 2002, the Valley Fire, a second fire, broke out and destroyed six homes within hours near the Falls Creek Ranch subdivision north of Durango. When residents returned after the Valley...
Western U.S. Wildfires Have Made Insurance Tough for Contractors
Jun 7 2021 // Things look bad with California’s ever-sooner wildfire season seemingly approaching and what’s shaping up to be a severe drought across the Western U.S. The plague of wildfires in the past few years in...
Willis Towers Watson Collaborates on Hurricane Insurance for Endangered Coral Reef
Jun 4 2021 // Insurance broker Willis Tower Watson announced the launch of a multinational partnership to develop and implement insurance solutions that help protect and restore the endangered 1,000 kilometer (621 mile) barrier reef...
Hawaii Eying Evacuation Plan for Mauna Loa Volcano
Jun 3 2021 // Hawaii is creating an emergency evacuation plan for the Big Island in preparation for the next eruption of the largest active volcano on Earth. A state Senate resolution adopted in March asks the state’s emergency...
Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake Confirmed in Alaska
Jun 2 2021 // A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Alaska’s Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage Sunday night and smaller tremors continued early Monday, the US Geological Survey confirmed. The earthquake was felt from Homer to...
U.S. Western States Preparing for Summer Wildfire Season
Jun 1 2021 // Wearing soot-smudged, fire-resistant clothing and helmets, several wildland firefighters armed with hoes moved through a stand of ponderosa pines as flames tore through the underbrush. The firefighters weren’t there...
PG&E to Pay $150M for Botched Outages, California Wildfires
May 28 2021 // Pacific Gas & Electric is getting hit with a nearly $150 million bill for neglect that caused Northern California wildfires during the past two years and mismanagement of blackouts designed to prevent the...
Texas Seeking Insurer Data on Catastrophe Experience in 2020
May 26 2021 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has issued a data call for information from certain insurance companies writing property insurance in Texas during calendar year 2020. The information will be used by the Texas...
Tornado Damages Buildings in Northwest Kansas Town
May 26 2021 // A tornado caused lots of property damage, but no serious injuries, in the northwestern Kansas town of Selden as strong storms raked the area, the National Weather Service said. Sheridan County officials reported the...
California Seeing More Wildfires as Drought Intensifies
May 26 2021 // As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state’s land scorched by...
Western U.S. Wildfires Have Made Insurance for Contractors a Tough Buy
May 25 2021 // Things look bad with California’s ever-sooner wildfire season seemingly approaching and what’s shaping up to be a severe drought across the Western U.S. The plague of wildfires in the past few years in...
It Doesn’t Take a Hurricane to Cause a Flood
May 25 2021 // Flooding is the costliest — and the most common — natural disaster to significantly impact communities across the United States, The PEW Charitable Trusts notes in reporting on flood-prepared communities. Flood events...
Earthquake Hits Beneath South Flank of Hawaii Volcano
May 25 2021 // A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck Sunday beneath the south flank of Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirmed. The earthquake was centered about 9...
$41M Recovered for Louisiana Consumers After Hurricane Claims Complaints
May 24 2021 // Complaints over insurance claims arising out of the three hurricanes that struck Louisiana last year have resulted in a recovery of $41 million for consumers as of the end of April, Louisiana insurance regulators say. The...
Tropical Storm Ana Begins Expected Above-Normal 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 23 2021 // Just days after weather forecasters predicted another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season in 2021, Ana launched the season by forming off of Bermuda. Ana reached Tropical Storm status early on Sunday northeast of...
Hawaii Can Expect 2 to 5 Storms During Hurricane Season
May 21 2021 // The central Pacific basin including Hawaii can expect between two and five tropical depressions, tropical storms or hurricanes this year, federal forecasters said Wednesday. The annual National Weather Service prediction...
Canada Faces Mega-Hurricanes if Climate Change Pushes Storms North: Swiss Re Warns
May 21 2021 // Climate change is making hurricanes bigger and stronger, and it may soon push them farther north. Yet Canada’s homeowners, businesses and insurers underestimate that escalating risk, according to one of the...
Climate Change Caused $8 Billion of Hurricane Sandy’s Economic Losses: Study
May 20 2021 // When Hurricane Sandy barreled over New York City and the East Coast in 2012, it caused $63 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history. Now, scientists have estimated that climate change pushed...
Crews Make Progress Against Los Angeles Wildfire
May 19 2021 // Firefighters increased containment of a Los Angeles wildfire and officials identified the man suspected of starting the blaze that prompted evacuations in canyon neighborhoods. Ramon Rodriguez Flores was detained Sunday...
