Though insurers around the world are holding out hope that 2012 will not be as disastrous as 2011, a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that that may not be the case. The agency has been investigating earthquakes in the isles of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In 2010, Haiti was rocked by a strong 7.0-magnitude quake that cost the lives of more than 300,000 people are decimated entire communities throughout the nation. Researchers say that this may not be the last big earthquake that…
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Japan at risk of more strong quakes in the next four years, say seismologists
Japan is still working to recover from a massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake that rocked the nation last year. The quake generated a tsunami that claimed 20,000 lives and spurred a nuclear crisis that continues to this day. While it will certainly not be the last quake Japan experiences in its lifetime, seismologists from the University of Tokyo say that the next quake will come sooner than expected. According to researchers, there is a 70% chance that the nation will be hit by a powerful quake of magnitude-7.0 or higher within four…
Read MoreAIR Worldwide marks 200th anniversary of New Madrid Earthquake with special report
It has been 200 years since the New Madrid Earthquake, a major seismic event that rattled the Central U.S. in the winter of 1811. The quake, which was estimated as being a 7.0, struck what is, today, Missouri. To mark the occasion, AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling firm serving the insurance industry, has released a new report titled “The New Madrid Earthquake Bicentennial: Revisiting A Midwest Mystery.” The report details how much the catastrophe modeling community has changes in the centuries following the disaster and estimates the financial impacts of…
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