Stormy Weather 2011 - Special Report
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Private-sector meteorologists are selling customized weather data to a myriad of enterprises — from agriculture to construction to transportation .
Earth
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A not-so-small cottage industry is now built around disaster preparation. While it never hurts to be prepared, say experts, how much of this industry is actually playing into people’s fears?
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Companies like ServiceMaster, ServPro, Disaster Kleenup International and the Signature Group are ready to mobilize workers by the hundreds to respond to catastrophe for days and weeks on end.
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To what degree a catastrophic event might be caused by climate change is impossible to measure at this stage, so global warming isn’t being directly priced into insurance premiums.
Wind
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New pipelines and high storage levels will combine to prevent a repeat of 2005 when hurricanes Katrina and Rita interrupted supply and prices spiked.
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Homeowner insurance costs and coverage vary widely state to state, forcing many consumers to navigate multiple policies and pay multiple premiums to cover one home.
Fire
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With the ever-growing encroachment of people into formerly rural, wildfire-prone areas you have the recipe for disaster — and a potential opportunity for businesses with products designed to help homeowners cope with the fires.
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Wildfires that burn more than 100,000 acres—an even considered rare 30 years ago—are now the rule rather than the exception, according to a 2008 paper by the National Center for Policy analysis.
Interactive Features
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Insurers call windstorm coverage — including hurricanes, tornadoes, and hail — the "market of last resort," which comes with its own special rates applied to areas most prone to disaster.
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People love to talk about the weather, but do they really know much about it? Test your knowledge.
Slideshow
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See average annual homeowners insurance premiums in these states, as well as average windstorm insurance premiums from the least expensive to the most expensive.
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What are the all-time costliest hurricanes to have ever hit the U.S.? Here are the Top 10.
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How does the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform stack up to the biggest oil disasters in history? Find out!
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2011 has been a difficult year for those in the South and Midwest United States. Following are a collection of images that show the destruction created from the tornadoes this year.
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On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck Japan, bringing a destructive tsunami along with it. See 11 other history-making nuclear disasters.