Latest Earthquake Headlines
All the headlines from our Earthquake Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Big Quakes More Frequent Than Thought on San Andreas Fault
Aug 24 2010 // Southern California is overdue for a major earthquake, according to UC Irvine and Arizona State University researchers who have charted temblors along the San Andreas fault stretching back 700 years. The findings, to be...
Markel Underwriting Loss Tied to Chile Earthquake, Deepwater Horizon
Aug 9 2010 // Specialty insurance company Markel Corp. reported that its combined ratio for the second quarter of 2010 was 103 percent, compared to 99 percent for the second quarter of 2009. The combined ratio was 102 percent for the...
Study Changes Picture of U.S. Quake Hazards
Aug 5 2010 // The risk of earthquakes in the U.S. Midwest may be more widespread than geologists have believed, but a “big one” may be less likely at Missouri’s New Madrid fault, researchers said Aug. 4. They found...
Minor Earthquake Shakes Up U.S. Capital
Jul 19 2010 // Earthquakes are so rare in the Washington area that even a geology student wasn’t quite sure what was going on when a minor one hit early Friday. Was it a truck passing by? A low-flying plane? Gerasimos...
Quake Monitor Installation Nears Completion in North Dakota
Jul 19 2010 // Installation is nearly complete on a network of earthquake-detecting instruments being placed across North Dakota as part of a national project, officials say. Fred Anderson, a geologist with the state Geological Survey in...
First Half 2010 Catastrophe Losses Double Average at $22 Billion
Jul 8 2010 // A report from Munich Re (www.munichre.com) notes that the first half of 2010 was “marked by an exceptionally large number of natural catastrophes and the scale of the losses they caused.” The reinsurer recorded...
Report IDs Pacific Northwest as ‘Mega-Earthquake’ Hotspot
Jul 5 2010 // The Pacific Northwest is one of five regions in the world most likely to see a mega-earthquake, according to a new report. “When The Earth Moves: Mega-Earthquakes To Come?” published by Aon Benfield in...
Caribbean Countries Renew Hurricane, Earthquake Coverage
Jul 2 2010 // All sixteen members of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF – www.ccrif.org) have renewed their policies for hurricane and earthquake coverage for the 2010/11 year beginning on June first, the...
Earthquake, Tornado, Storms Hit Canada’s International Summit Site
Jun 24 2010 // International leaders might be forgiven if they nervously eye the skies above and the ground below as they gather for summits of the Group of Eight and the Group of 20 in Canada’s province of Ontario this weekend. In...
Lloyd’s Team to Assess Chile Earthquake
Jun 18 2010 // Lloyd’s has confirmed that a team has been sent to Chile to “help the market better understand the impact of February’s earthquake and assist in ensuring the speedy payment of valid claims.” The...
Aon Benfield Report Identifies ‘Mega-Earthquake’ ‘Hotspots
Jun 15 2010 // Aon Benfield has published a new report – “When The Earth Moves: Mega-Earthquakes To Come?” – in conjunction with the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre. The report was prompted by the recent...
Study Ties 1811, 1812 Midwest Quakes to Illinois Fault
Jun 9 2010 // New research by U.S. Geological Survey scientists is casting doubt on the long-held idea that the New Madrid fault zone in Missouri’s Bootheel unleashed a series of devastating earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. In a new...
Munich Re: ‘Ever Higher’ Nat Cat Costs; Ups Chile Quake Loss to $1 Billion
Jun 8 2010 // A bulletin from Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, concludes that the “long-term trend towards ever higher natural catastrophe costs” looks set to continue, according to an analysis from its Geo...
10 Catastrophe Bonds Closed Before Hurricane Season Opening
Jun 1 2010 // Reinsurers transferred $2.35 billion in catastrophe risk to capital markets before the U.S. hurricane season that began Tuesday, higher than the $1.4 billion last year, as the catastrophe bond sector starts to resume...
RMS Announces New Parametric Loss Index for Japan Quake Risks
May 19 2010 // Risk Management Solutions announced the addition of Japan earthquake to its existing suite of parametric industry loss indices covering U.S. hurricane, U.S. earthquake, and Europe windstorm. RMS said: “Paradex Japan...
South Carolina Had Small Earthquake
May 18 2010 // Federal experts say a small earthquake struck near the South Carolina coast last week. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake occurred about 6 miles south southeast of Summerville shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday. It...
California Earthquake Fault Activity Map Shows 50 Additional Fault Lines
May 3 2010 // California geology officials have released an updated state seismic activity map that they hope will improve earthquake preparedness and construction decisions.The map, which had not been updated since 1994, includes more...
Aon Employs FAConnect Platform to Meet Facultative Chile Quake Demand
Apr 28 2010 // Aon Benfield announced that it is utilizing its “groundbreaking FAConnect placement platform to respond to client demand for expanded Chile earthquake capacity.” The system opens the way for Aon’s clients...
Zurich Estimates Chile Earthquake-related Losses at $200 Million
Apr 26 2010 // Zurich Financial Services announced that, based on preliminary estimates, it expects aggregate claims payments related to the earthquake in Chile of approximately $200 million before tax. Zurich added that the estimate is...
San Francisco Voters Urged to Pass $412M Earthquake Bond Measure
Apr 15 2010 // The mayor and other San Francisco officials are urging residents to approve a $412 million bond measure on the June ballot to help prepare for the next major earthquake. The measure would allocate $104 million to reinforce...
