hurricanes News

Quick-Cash, Risk-Swap Deals Multiply in Extreme Weather Era

Some of the world’s largest insurers are eagerly pitching cities, states and even school districts on policies designed to pay out quickly with few questions in the event of extreme weather. The catch: Even a hurricane might not be extreme …

Researchers Find Houses in Hurricane Strike Zones Are Built Back Bigger

A study of hurricane-hit areas of the United States has revealed a trend of larger homes being built to replace smaller ones in the years following a storm. The research, led by the University of Southampton (UK) and published in …

Biggest Cat Losses of the Past Decade Hit U.S. Insurers

Wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail storms, Nor’easters and mudslides. A string of disasters has pummeled the biggest U.S. insurers over the past year, and the second quarter was no exception. Allstate Corp. estimated its pretax catastrophe losses at $906 million for …

New Analysis Compares 22 Named Storms With Their Future Selves

Scientists have published a detailed analysis of how 22 recent hurricanes would change if they instead formed near the end of this century. While each storm’s transformation would be unique, on balance, the hurricanes would become a little stronger, a …

Commentary: Disasters Cost More as We Insure Them Less

Last year was the second-costliest year for disasters since 1970, according to a new analysis from reinsurance firm Swiss Re AG. Global economic losses from these events reached $337 billion in 2017, behind only 2011’s total losses, and less than …

Hurricanes Aren’t to Blame for Most Big Storm Surges in Northeast

Hurricanes spawn most of the largest storm surges in the northeastern U.S., right? Wrong, according to a study by Rutgers University–New Brunswick scientists. Extratropical cyclones, including nor’easters and other non-tropical storms, generate most of the large storm surges in the …

Worst Global Weather Threat Isn’t Hurricanes

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week released its list of climate events that have had the greatest economic impact on the U.S. from 1980 to 2017. At $306 billion, last year’s sustained costs due to weather disasters was …

FEMA Reflects on Historic Year of Catastrophes

2017 will be a year remembered for the catastrophic disasters that resulted in 59 major disaster declarations, 16 emergency declarations and 62 Fire Management Assistance Grant declarations, across more than 35 states, tribes and territories, according to a recent Federal …

North America Pounded by Disasters in 2017

North America couldn’t catch a break in 2017. Parts of the United States were on fire, underwater or lashed by hurricane winds. Mexico shook with back-to-back earthquakes. The Caribbean got hit with a string of hurricanes. The rest of the …

Employees May Soon Be Taking Climate Leave

Even the workplace has to adapt to the warming world. As climate change creates more intense storms, companies have started preparing for work disruptions due to extreme weather. In a sign of the times, Fog Creek, a software company based …