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CatWatch™ Catastrophe Reports

CatWatch, EQECAT's natural hazard catastrophe reports, are compiled before, during, and after major natural catastrophe events. CatWatch event reports provide critical event information about spatial distribution of damage, potential post-event effects, and in many cases, insured and economic loss estimates for the insurance and reinsurance industry.

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  • Strong Earthquake off the Coast of Nicaragua, Minor Damage

    15-Jun-13 | View Report

    A magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred on the morning of Saturday, June 15, 2013, off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, 90 km (56 mi) west southwest of the capital city of Managua. Minor damage and one fatality have been reported.

  • Tropical Storm Andrea Makes Landfall in Florida’s Big Bend; Brings Heavy Rains to East Coast

    07-Jun-13 | View Report

    Tropical Storm Andrea made landfall around 5:40pm EDT Thursday, June 6, in the Florida Big Bend region with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.  Currently transiting North Carolina, Andrea is expected to re-emerge into the Atlantic south of the DelMarVa Peninsula as it transitions to an extra-tropical storm.  The National Hurricane Center places only a 3 to 5% probability that Andrea will ever carry hurricane-force winds.

  • Andrea Forms in the Gulf of Mexico; Heads for the Florida Coast

    06-Jun-13 | View Report

    Tropical Storm Andrea is unlikely to strengthen to hurricane intensity before making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region.  An expected storm surge of 3 to 5 feet will likely impact the region from Crystal River to Cedar Key. 

  • Strong Earthquake Jolts Central Taiwan; Felt in Hong Kong

    05-Jun-13 | View Report

    A magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred on Sunday, June 2, 2013 in the mountainous region of Central Taiwan, 22 km south-southeast of the city of Buli, in Nantou County. Strong ground motions were limited to central regions of the island, closest to the epicenter, but the earthquake was widely felt across the island, including in the capital city of Taipei. Shaking was reported at great distances, including in Hong Kong, over 700 km (450 mi) away. Based on a representative market portfolio, damage is expected to range from $50 to $300 million USD. Insured losses only make up a small fraction of the total damage.

  • Devastating Floods Hit Central Europe; Significant Damage Expected

    04-Jun-13 | View Report

    Heavy rainfall continues to cause widespread flooding across Central Europe. Following several days of intense rainfall, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are currently the worst affected areas, as several provinces declare a state of emergency and implement necessary civil evacuation measures.

  • Barbara Brings Heavy Rainfall to Southeastern Mexico After Making Landfall near Tonalá, Chiapas

    30-May-13 | View Report

    Tropical Storm Barbara was upgraded to a hurricane as it approached Mexico's southern Pacific coast making landfall in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 20 miles west of Tonalá as a weak Category 1 hurricane. Barbara later weakened to a tropical storm and continued to bring heavy rainfall in Southeastern Mexico.

  • California Earthquakes This Week: North and South Not Related

    30-May-13 | View Report

    Two moderate sized earthquakes have been felt in California this week: a magnitude 5.7 in Northern California on May 23 and a magnitude 4.8 in southern California on May 30. These two earthquakes were not related. Both events were widely felt, but little damage resulted. The northern event (M5.7) was nearly ten times larger than the southern event (M4.8), but occurred in a remotely populated area of Northern California.

  • Barbara to Make Landfall as a Hurricane in Mexico

    29-May-13 | View Report

    Tropical Storm Barbara became the second named storm of the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season. Tropical Storm Barbara will strengthen in the Eastern Pacific and is expected to make landfall in Mexico as a hurricane later today. The insured losses from this event are expected to be minimal.

  • Destructive Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes

    23-May-13 | View Report

    A very strong storm system moving across the central United States has produced deadly tornado touchdowns and significant property losses. The National Weather Service reported 16 tornado touchdowns on Saturday 18 May, 29 touchdowns on the 19 May and 31 on 20 May. Two tornado touchdowns south of Oklahoma City (OK) were responsible for an estimated 26 fatalities (2 fatalities from an EF4 touchdown on 19 May, and 24 fatalities from an EF5 touchdown on 20 May). Insured property losses are expected to range from $2 to $5 billion. Advance tornado forecasts and warnings were not sufficient to reduce the loss of life from these events.

  • M5.2 Earthquake Shakes Eastern Canada

    17-May-13 | View Report

    A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred on the morning of Friday, May 17, 2013 near the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau) of Canada. A magnitude 4.1 aftershock struck ten minutes later. This is the largest event to strike the area since the magnitude 5.0 event on June 23, 2010.

  • M6.6 Quake in China Responsible for 200+ Fatalities

    22-Apr-13 | View Report

    A magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurred on the morning of Saturday, April 20, 2013 in the Sichuan Province of China, 115km WSW from the city of Chengdu. Strong ground motions were limited to approximately 50km from the epicenter, but the earthquake was widely felt in the region. Reports indicate shaking continued for one minute. The China Earthquake Administration (CEA) has reported this event at M7.0, with a shallow depth of 12km.

  • M7.8 Earthquake in the Iran-Pakistan Border Region

    16-Apr-13 | View Report

    A M7.8 earthquake occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in southeastern Iran, near the Pakistan border. Strong ground motions extended more than 150 miles from the epicenter, and the earthquake was widely felt in the region. Preliminary reports indicate dozens of fatalities and more than 850 people injured, with damage concentrated in the immediate area of the earthquake. The sparsely populated and remote region of this earthquake has limited the potential for broader effects from this event.

  • Rusty Makes Landfall as a Cat 3 Cyclone; Insured Loss Not Expected to be Significant

    27-Feb-13 | View Report

    Tropical Cyclone Rusty made landfall as a Category 3 Cyclone (on the Australian Category Scale) and Category 1 (on the American Saffir-Simpson Scale) near Pardoo, a small sparsely populated town, about 105 km east of Port Hedland, on Wednesday, February 27 at 0600 UTC. Rusty was a broad, slow moving storm, which was initially expected to make landfall near Port Hedland, but later veered away towards Pardoo. The event is expected to cause destructive winds within the impacted regions, localized flooding, and power outages. Though Rusty is the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2012-2013 Season to affect Australia, the estimated damage from this event is expected to be minimal, mainly because of the sparse population, preparation in advance of Rusty, and the stringent and strictly enforced building codes in Australia.