catastrophes News

Audit of Burst Brazil Tailings Dam Raised Concerns over Drainage, Monitoring

A report commissioned by Brazilian miner Vale SA last year, to look into the stability of a tailings dam that ruptured on Jan. 25, certified it as sound but raised concerns over its drainage and monitoring systems. The report by …

Brazil’s Burst Dam Disasters Blamed on Cheap Storage of Mining Waste

The deadly collapse of a Vale SA tailings dam in Brazil is serving as a wake-up call for an industry that regularly cuts costs by storing mining waste in the cheapest possible way. The slurry of ground rock and effluents …

Brazil Dam Disaster Could Delay Settlement for 2015’s Samarco Mine Disaster

Brazil’s deadly tailings dam collapse is likely to complicate a settlement for a similar disaster less than four years ago at the Samarco iron ore mine, owned jointly by Vale SA and BHP Group, investors said on Tuesday [Jan. 29]. …

Allianz Has Reinsurance Exposure to Vale Dam Disaster: Sources

German insurer Allianz may have to cover some of the costs of the dam collapse at Vale’s Corrego do Feijao mine in Brazil, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Allianz’s Global Corporate & Specialty division (AGCS) leads a …

Brazil Weighs Management Overhaul at Vale After Mine Disaster; Death Toll Rises

Brazil’s government weighed pushing for a management overhaul at iron ore miner Vale SA on Monday as grief over the hundreds feared killed by a dam burst turned into anger, with prosecutors, politicians and victims’ families calling for punishment. By …

Collapsed Brazil Mining Dam Kills at Least 58, in Echoes of 2015 Disaster

Brazilian rescuers searched into the night on Sunday for hundreds of people missing after a burst mining dam triggered a deadly mudslide, as the death toll rose to 58 and was expected to keep climbing more than two days after …

Australia Court Narrows Class-Action Suits Against BHP over Brazil Mine Disaster

The Federal Court of Australia on Tuesday ordered that the number of class-action lawsuits against BHP Group over a Brazilian mine collapse be narrowed to one from three. BHP is facing legal challenges over the 2015 collapse of the Fundao …

BHP Readies for Largest English Group Lawsuit over 2015 Brazil Mine Disaster

Mining giant BHP says it will fight an unprecedented English lawsuit filed by hundreds of thousands of Brazilians for multi-billion pound damages over Brazil’s worst environmental disaster. SPG Law, a British offshoot of a U.S. litigator, represents 240,000 individuals in …

U.S. Weather Remains Biggest Driver of Global Insurance Losses in 2017: Aon

Severe weather in the U.S. remains the largest contributor to global insurance losses in 2017 after April continued the trend with multi-billion dollar losses for public and private insurers, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team. “Much …

PERILS Forms Alliance with CatIQ to Provide Industry Loss Data for Canada

PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry catastrophe insurance data, has announced that it has entered a strategic alliance with Toronto-based Catastrophe Indices & Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) to provide industry loss data for Canada via the PERILS Industry Loss …