Disaster (Flood,Coastal,EQ,W-Fire,etc.) News

Aon: EU’s Environmental Liability Directive May Dominate Hungarian Spill

“The unfolding disaster in Hungary, in which toxic sludge escaped from a failed reservoir belonging to an industrial company, should serve as a warning to companies with industrial operations in Europe that the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) leaves no place …

U.S. Firms Plan New Oil Spill Insurance Fund

U.S. oil explorers are talking about forming a new insurance fund that would cover the costs of any future oil spill, to avoid a scenario where smaller companies are unable to drill offshore, a senior industry executive said on Thursday. …

U.S. Avoids Major Landfall So Far in Active Hurricane Season

The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season has been very active in the number of storms but is likely to go down as a non-event for most people in the United States, which has so far dodged a major landfall, the top …

Willis Re Releases Detailed Flood Models for Latin America

Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, has released “detailed risk estimates and large event scenarios for key cities including São Paulo, Santiago and Bogotá.” Willis said the models, developed by its Willis Research Network …

RMS Reviews 2010 Hurricane Season to Date

Risk Management Solutions reports that as of October 5, 2010, there are “exactly eight weeks left until the end of the official hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. To date, 14 named storms have developed, seven …

BP Claims Fund Struggles to Get Up to Speed

In the rush to get compensation from BP after its massive oil spill, the $20 billion fund that the company created has been inundated with questionable documentation, inflated claims and in some cases, outright fraud — all slowing down the …

Aon Benfield’s Monthly Cat Report Highlights Tropical Cyclones, NZ Quake

Hungary Aluminum Sludge Flood Called ‘Ecological Disaster’

Hungary declared a state of emergency in three counties Tuesday after a flood of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant engulfed several towns and burned people through their clothes. One official called it “an ecological disaster” that may threaten …

Minor Earthquake Hits Virginia

The U.S. Geological Survey says a minor earthquake has hit Virginia. Dale Grant, a geophysicist with the USGS, said the magnitude 3.0 earthquake happened at 4:17 p.m. Saturday. Its epicenter was about 20 miles north of Richmond. Grant said there …

President Obama Signs 1-Year Flood Insurance Bill

It’s official: the federal flood insurance program will be around for at least one more year. President Obama yesterday signed into law S. 3814, the bill that will extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until Sept. 30, 2011. Without …