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What are Cat Updates
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Current Cat Activity
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Cat Name
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Description |
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Indonesia Earthquake Mw 7.6
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1/5/2009, Indonesia -
On Saturday 3 January a powerful magnitude 7.6 (moment magnitude) earthquake struck near the north coast of Papua, Indonesia at 19:43 UTC (04:43 local time). The USGS released a preliminary location at 0.510S, 132.783E, around 95 miles (150 km) west northwest of Manokwari, Papua and 105 miles (170 km) east northeast of Sorong, Papua with a fixed focal depth of 21.7 miles (35 km). The earthquake was followed by another big quake of magnitude 7.3 (moment magnitude) at location 0.695S, 133.279E at 22:33 UTC (07:33 local time) and a string of moderate aftershocks. At least one person has been killed by the earthquake and dozens more have been seriously injured. Media reports indicate that 50 people were hospitalised for broken bones and head wounds while 300 others were given outpatient treatment. Damage seems to be confined to areas in and around Manokwari, where there are reports that hundreds of buildings have collapsed, including the Mutiara hotel and Kali Dingin Hotel, which were both totally destroyed. Hundreds more buildings in Manokwari are known to have been damaged, including government and private buildings. Seven bridges were also damaged, two of which have collapsed. The initial quake caused power lines to fall, cutting off electricity in and around Manokwari up until Saturday evening, when electricity was restored. Commercial flights to the area were cancelled after cracks appeared on the runway of the city's airport. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the initial quake triggered a small tsunami which hit the Japanese coast, but did not cause any damage. As of Monday 5 January, aid workers have yet to reach some of the worst hit areas, suggesting that damage figures could rise over the next few days. Around 14,000 Manokwari residents are refusing to return to their homes for fear that more buildings could collapse as aftershocks continue to shake the area. RMS is continuing to monitor damage reports and will update this report if anything significant comes to light.
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Midwest Winter Storm
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12/29/2008, Midwest USA -
A severe winter storm has caused significant disruption and damage to parts of the Midwest over the weekend of 27-28 December, with about 413,000 homes and businesses in the Michigan area without power on Sunday 28 December. Winds gusting up to 60 mph (96 km/hr) knocked down tree limbs and power lines and snow accumulations of up to 4 inches have been recorded in parts of the state. Detroit-based DTE Energy Co. said about 230,000 customers lost power on Sunday 28 December, mostly in Wayne and Oakland counties in Michigan. The company expect that 10 per cent of the 155,000 customers blacked out Sunday night would have to remain without power until Thursday 1 January. Consumers Energy said about 183,000 customers lost power across the state of Michigan, including the Grand Rapids Area and Kent County, on Sunday 28 December because of the high winds and 91,000 remained without on Sunday night. The company could not predict when power might be restored. Strong winds also gusted across upstate New York, reaching 75 mph (120 km/hr) in the Buffalo area and toppling some power poles and trees. Nearly 16,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm in five western and northern counties of New York. Flood warnings were issued for Sunday 28 December over sections of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and northwest Ohio as temperatures rose after a week of heavy snowfalls throughout the Midwest. In Chicago, a severe thunderstorm on Saturday 27 December and rapid snowmelt resulted in flooding in a region that was highly vulnerable to such conditions. Basements were reported to have taken on water from Elmhurst to Park Ridge and streets closed in River Forest and Downers Grove. The Weather Service has predicted that the Des Moines River will peak early morning Monday 29 December at 9.7 feet (3 m), almost 3 feet (0.9 m) above flood stage, presenting a major hazard to residents living in the surrounding areas. Emergency services have advised residents in some neighbourhoods to evacuate. As many as 50,000 people were without power in Chicago on Saturday, 27 December at the height of the storm. However, power had been restored to all but 3,000 people by 20:30 local time on Saturday evening. The heavy rain on Saturday added to the 50 inches of precipitation that made 2008 Chicago’s wettest year on record. Last week in Chicago, five hundred flights were cancelled at Chicago O'Hare Airport on Tuesday 23 December and Wednesday 24 December due to bad weather. Rail services and highways were also badly affected. Flood warnings remain in place for much of the Midwest as snow and ice continues to melt across the region. The National Weather Service has also issued flood warnings to the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and parts of Missouri, Ohio and Iowa.
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Tropical Storm Billy
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12/29/2008, Western Australia -
At 00:00 UTC on Wednesday, 24 December, tropical cyclone Billy was located near 17.9S 119.9E approximately 466 miles (750 km) northeast of Learmonth, Australia with maximum sustained winds near 86 mph (139 km/hr) – the equivalent of a category 2 storm on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Scale. Billy is moving westward, away from the northwest coast of Australia where it emerged from about 24 hours ago, with a forward speed of around 6 mph (10 km/hr). Due to favourable environmental conditions are Billy has been strengthening in the last 24 hours and is forecast to continue to do so in the next 24 hours. Beyond 24 hours, increasing wind shear and cooler sea surface temperatures will prevent Billy from further intensification and should trigger a weakening trend. At this stage, on the current forecast track Billy is not expected to impact the west coast of Australia, however RMS will be monitoring this system closely for signs of re-curvature.
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Italy Earthquake Mw5.3
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12/24/2008, Northern Italy -
On Tuesday, 23 December at 15:24 UTC (4:24 pm local time) a moderate earthquake Mw5.3 magnitude struck northern Italy. The USGS has estimated a preliminary epicenter location near 44.639N 10.380E which is 20 km (10 miles) south southeast of Parma, Italy75 km (50 miles) west northwest of Bologna, Italy 105 km (65 miles) south southwest of Verona, Italy 350 km (220 miles) north northwest of ROME, Italy with a focal depth of 18 miles (28.9 km). At this stage there are no reports of damage or injuries, however the earthquake interrupted communications for a short time and was felt widely across the northern part of the country, including Milan. RMS will continue to monitor any damage reports and will update this report if anything significant comes to light.
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US Winter Storms 19-21 December
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12/19/2008, US -
Parts of the Northwest and Northeast US were again hit by major winter storms on Friday, 19 December and into the weekend of 20-21 December, causing widespread disruption and severe public transportation delays to areas of the country that had already been subject to severe snow and ice storms in the past week. The winter storms have bought a combination of heavy snow, ice and strong winds to parts of the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast – most notably. The Pacific Northwest was hit particularly hard with snow accumulations of up to 5 inches (0.4 feet) around Seattle by the morning of Sunday, 21 December. The heavy snowfall resulted in massive disruption in the region, with dozen of flights cancelled at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. Seattle's Amtrak station was also packed with stranded holiday travelers after the winter storm stopped trains in their tracks in the Pacific Northwest on Sunday 21 December. Severe wintry conditions were felt across Washington State, with reports of major disruption to the city of Bellevue, with about 3,000 people in South Bellevue losing power temporarily on Sunday, 21 December. In the area around Sultan, Monroe and Gold Bar in Snohomish County, winds caused enormous snowdrifts of up to 96 inches (8 feet) in places. Train services and roads were affected badly by the storm over the weekend, with part of Washington State’s main east-west roadway being shut down on Saturday and Sunday, with no indication on when it would reopen. On other train routes which also experienced disruption, full service is expected to resume Monday, 22 December including routes between Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia but trains running from Seattle to Los Angles will still be subjected to significant delays. Severe public transport delays and disruption on roads and highways were reported across the northern states on Sunday, 21 December with several international airports declaring major delays to its services. Flight delays were reported at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, New York's Kennedy Airport, Newark’s Liberty Airport, Boston's Logan Airport and George Bush International Airport in Houston according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In the northeast region of New England, areas that are still recovering from the ice storm that struck less than a week ago were hit hard by severe weather over the weekend of 20-21 December, with areas stretching from New Jersey east to New Hampshire and Maine being some of the worst affected states. Unofficial reports suggest snow accumulations of between 15-20 inches (1.25-1.66 feet) in central New Hampshire and even more snow fall further north. Strong gusts were also reported, which combined with the snow fall, resulted in blizzard conditions over large areas and snow drifts. This second major storm has reportedly hampered efforts to fully restore power through New Hampshire, however restoration is continuing and as of 03:00 UTC on Monday, 22 December the number of Public Service New Hampshire customers still without power has reduced to 14,500 from around 50,000 on Friday, 19 December. Power outages have also been reported in the state of Illinois, where more than 35,000 people were without electricity on Sunday, 21 December shortly after being restored to most who had lost it after the winter storm that hit on 12 December. Utility services in the area blamed the outages on the massive ice accumulation on power lines and trees, which have been susceptible to being knocked down by high winds. In Massachusetts, powerful winds and freezing temperatures hit, with the city of Boston getting up to five inches (0.4 feet) of snow. In Ashby, Massachusetts, a town of 3,200 people, more than half of the houses and businesses were without electricity on Sunday 21 December with a total of up to 4,000 households in the state still without power on Monday morning, 22 December.
It has been an active start to the winter storm season this year. High amounts of snowfall in Illinois through December has resulted in snowfall accumulations of 18.0 inches (1.5 feet) in Chicago and 26.4 (2.2 feet) inches in Rockford, ranking them the 10th and 2nd highest December accumulations (respectively) since records began.
RMS will continue to collate information related to the weekend’s winter storms and will update this report should there be any significant resulting property damage or major power outage disruptions.
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Tropical Storm Dolphin
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12/17/2008, Northwest Pacific Basin -
RMS is continuing to monitor the progress of tropical storm Dolphin, currently located within the Northwest Pacific Basin, near 19.4N, 132.7E on Wednesday 17 December at 06:00 UTC. As of Wednesday, 17 December 06:00 UTC the storm has maximum sustained winds of about 70 mph (110 km/hr) and is heading in a northeasterly direction with a forward speed of 12 mph (20 km/hr). The storm is currently Tropical Storm status on the Saffir–Simpson scale and is expected to reduce in intensity to Tropical Depression status over the next 36 hours. Forecasts for the next 48 hours indicate that the storm will dissipate as a significant storm within the next 48 hours. The storm is not expected to make landfall during this time.
Dolphin was declared a tropical storm on Friday, 12 December over the West Pacific. It then started to progress westwards over tropical waters, where it slowly intensified to reach typhoon status on Monday 15 December with a maximum intensity the equivalent of a category 2 status storm on the Saffir Simpson scale. The storm then abruptly changed direction whilst located near 13N 130E, heading north and then northeast, away from the Philippines islands. Dolphin remained far enough away from the Philippines to cause no impact and never made landfall.
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Sweden Earthquake Mw 4.7
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12/16/2008, Sweden -
On Tuesday, 16 December a magnitude 4.7 (moment magnitude) earthquake struck the southern tip of Sweden at 05:20 UTC (06:20 local time). The USGS released a preliminary epicentre location at 55.583N, 13.534E, around 20 miles (35 km) east of Malmo, 40 miles (60 km) east of Copenhagen, 310 miles (500 km) southwest of Stockholm with a fixed focal depth of 6.2 miles (10 km). The moderate quake could be felt throughout southern Sweden and northern Denmark, including the Danish capital Copenhagen. Light shaking of buildings and homes was reported in the region but there have been no reports of damage or injuries. Seismologists in Sweden have stated that this is the largest earthquake to hit the country since 1904. RMS will continue to monitor this event and will update this activity should any significant information come to light.
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12/12/2008, US North East Coast -
A major winter storm which commenced on Thursday, 11 December is currently affecting parts of New England in the United States. New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York are the worst affected States and have been subject to rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow. Ice accumulations have caused trees and power lines to fall across the region triggering over 1.4 million power outages in the affected States. As of late afternoon Sunday, 14 December, some 570,000 customers across the region were still without power. Authorities are warning that in some areas, power may not be fully restored until Thursday or Friday. New Hampshire has been hit particularly hard, with the number of homes and businesses without power at the height of the storm up to about 322,000, triggering a State of Emergency to be declared. In Maine, more than 85,000 homes and businesses were still without power Sunday evening, down from 220,000 at the height of the storm on Friday. In Vermont, more than 10,500 homes and businesses were still without power, down from 40,000, most of them in the southern Vermont counties of Windham and Winsor. In New York, 225,000 people were left without power, including 140,000 around Albany. In New Hampshire, 163,000 were still without power Sunday evening, down from a total of 430,000 at the height of the storm. Several counties across the New England region have been forced to declare States of Emergencies as the number of reports of downed power lines and fallen trees continues to rise. They include Columbia, Green, Schenectady County, Rotterdam, Stillwater Halfmoon and Clifton Park. The state of Massachusetts has also declared a State of Emergency, after the western and central parts of the state were coated in an inch of ice. Hardest hit was Worcester County and Merrimack Valley, in the north of Massachusetts, where over 98,000 people were reported to be without power Sunday evening. The Governor of Massachusetts has stated that it would likely be days before power is restored to the 350,000 homes and businesses that have suffered power outages in the state. There have been reports of 4 fatalities attributed to the storm. The warmer temperatures experienced on Sunday and those forecast for Monday are expected to melt most of the ice. This however, presents more risks as trees snap back into place, potentially damaging more powerlines. RMS is continuing to monitor this event and will issue a Cat Update report by 14:00 UTC on Monday, 15 December.
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Papua New Guinea Tidal Waves
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12/12/2008, Papua New Guinea -
Huge waves smashed into the northern coastal region of Papau New Guinea (PNG) on Tuesday 9 December, destroying homes and flooding businesses, schools and a local hospital. More than 400 have been made homeless as the huge waves hit across an 500 mile (800 km) stretch along Papau New Guinea’s northern coastline. According to sources, the waves lasted for about six hours and created pools of water as deep as two metres. The worst affected areas were the coastal towns of Wewak and the nearby island of New Ireland. Emergency Services officials said 20,000 people had been affected in New Ireland, 20,000 in Manus and 5,500 in Bougainville. About 200 people were also affected in Morobe province on the north coast of PNG. There have been unconfirmed reports that two people have been killed by the disaster. The cause of the huge waves has yet to be confirmed, although it has been reported that they were the result of a high tidal surge.
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Greece Riots
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12/11/2008, Greece -
Greece's prime minister has vowed to restore order and compensate businesses after heavy rioting left parts of Athens and around 10 other cities across Greece with significant damage to property and infrastructure. The rioting began after the shooting of a teenager by police on Saturday, 7 December in the downtown Athens district of Exarchia. The civil unrest then spread from Athens to other cities across Greece, including Thessaloniki, Patras and Zefyri. The disturbances were the worst riots since the 1970’s, with the Athens Chamber of Commerce reporting that damage to property and goods could cost companies more than 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion, £874 million). The worst damage is reported to be in Athens, where it is estimated that 565 shops and 200 banks have been affected. Other sources have claimed that one in 10 businesses in the capital have been damaged, with nearly half that number being forced to close permanently. Among the victims of the riots, was the Greek clothing retailer Sprider Store, which had its flagship store on Ermou Street, located in the city’s main commercial area, totally destroyed by fire. In total, the fire service said it responded to more than 200 blazes in central Athens on Monday, about half of them in buildings and the rest in cars and rubbish bins. Significant disruption has been caused by the rioting and protests that have been ongoing since the shooting on Saturday. On Wednesday, 10 December, over 10,000 demonstrators clashed with police in the capital, causing banks, schools, and hospitals to be closed, Athens subway shut and many local and international flights cancelled. RMS will continue to monitor this event and will update this activity should any significant information come to light.
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Southern California Earthquake Mw5.1
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12/8/2008, Southern California, US -
On Saturday, 6 December a magnitude 5.1 (moment magnitude) earthquake struck the centre of Southern California at 04:18 UTC (20:18 local time). The USGS released a preliminary epicentre location at 34.813N, 116.419W, around 16 miles west northwest of Ludlow, 35 miles (57 km) east of Barstow and 117 miles (188 km) east northeast of Los Angeles Civic Centre with a fixed focal depth of 4.5 miles (7.3 km). The moderate quake could be felt as far as Los Angeles and San Diego. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake is the second one above a magnitude-5.0 to hit Southern California this year. In July, a magnitude-5.4 quake struck the Greater Los Angeles area causing the strongest shaking of a populated area of Southern California since the 1994 Northridge disaster. RMS is continuing to monitor this event and will update this activity should any significant information come to light.
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Mumbai Terror Attacks
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11/26/2008, Mumbai, India -
125 people were killed and more than 300 injured when a team of militants armed with grenades and rifles blasted their way through tourist sites in the Indian financial center of Mumbai. The terrorists, who came probably from Pakistan via the sea route struck targets such as the Leopold Cafe, Hotel Oberoi and Taj International, Colaba Wadi, the BMC office, Cama Hospital, GT Hospital, Nariman House, Vidhan Bhavan. Hundreds of people were held hostage in the Taj hotel, the Trident hotel and Nariman house. Initial reports indicate that the buildings were badly damaged by the attack and could cost the insurance industry up to $600 million in property claims alone.
Characteristic of Attack:
1. Current evidence indicate that the attacks were perpetrated by militants link to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). a Pakistani jihadi groups that have strong ties with Al Qaeda.
2. The event was designed to cause the maximum amount of casualties, fear, economic disruption and media attention while using comparatively small-scale attack devices.
3. The assaults were a coordinated simultaneous attack, consistent with the modus operandi of salafi-jihadi group's such as Al Qaeda. These attacks allow terrorists to maximize damage before security services and the public, are able to respond effectively.
4. Salafi-jihadi group operating in India often focus on targets that help to foment and increase Hindu-Muslim tension. This attack, however, seem to have moved away from that objective and was intended to focus on Westerners, a strong Al Qaeda trademark.
5. The attack was also unusual in that it relied not on suicide bombers but on armed suicide attackers, who engaged the security forces before sacrificing themselves.
6. As security at military bases, embassies, and other government facilities increases, we have a seen a trend among terrorists in targeting soft targets such as hotels. Moreover, by their basic nature, these locations must remain open and thus find it difficult to exclude those with hostile intentions.
7. Recent attacks in the region have also targeted hotels which are known to host foreigners. These include: The September truck bombing of Islamabad's Marriott hotel that killed 60 people; a terrorist assault which killed eight people at Kabul's top hotel in January, the Serena; suicide attacks on the Radisson SAS hotel, the Grand Hyatt and Days Inn in Amman, Jordan in 2005; the 2003 blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott that killed 12 people; and a 2002 car bombing that killed 11 French engineers outside Karachi's Sheraton hotel.
8. Places of worship and their congregations are targeted by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda because of their view that their jihad is between the Muslims on one side Christians and Jews on the other. Most at risk are churches or synagogues where there are perceptions amongst Al Qaeda and their affiliates that the people involved with these sites are proselytizing.
9. Passenger rail lines and their associated stations maybe targeted due to the high density of people present and the disruption impact on transportation.
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Venice Flooding
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12/1/2008, Venice, Italy -
On Monday, 1 December authorities in the Italian city of Venice issued a flood alert, warning that the sea could rise to 1.66m (5.4 ft) above its normal level, the highest for 30 years. Flood levels peaked at 1.56m (5.1 ft) around 10:45am local time (9:45 UTC), and authorities have estimated that 96 per cent of the surface area of the city was already flooded. St. Marks Square and the rest of the city’s historic centre were submerged under 80cm (2.6 ft) of water by late morning on Monday. Water levels have already started to recede and are expected to return to normal by 7:00pm local time (18:00 UTC); however another surge is expected in the early hours of Tuesday. The flooding was caused by a combination of persistently high southern winds and heavy rain and snowfall in northern Italy over the past few days. A shift in the direction of the winds prevented the floods from reaching the full height of 1.66m (5.4 ft). The last time the waters passed 1.56m (5.1 ft) in 1986 when flood waters reached 1.58m (5.2 ft). In 1979, flood waters reached a height of 1.66m (5.4 ft), and the worst incident of high water in Venice came in 1966 when the city was submerged by 1.94m (6.4 ft) of water, resulting in over 5,000 people in Venice being left homeless. Venice is frequently affected by floods, and the completion of an underwater dam to protect the city from flooding is expected in 2011. RMS is continuing to monitor the situation, and will update this report should any significant information arise.
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