The August 23 earthquake centered in Virginia was a wake-up call for many people. As it unexpectedly rattled the areas from Atlanta, Ga. up through Canada, attention was drawn to the possibility of more seismic activity throughout the eastern U.S.
Catastrophe risk-modeler EQECAT predicts insured losses from the 5.8-magnitude quake in the sparsely-populated area at less than $100 million, but that number would be much higher if an earthquake were to strike nearby in New York City. EQECAT's USQuake model predicts that there is actually a higher seismic hazard for the New York City metro area, where a 5.5-magnitude earthquake would potentially cause $10 to $20 billion in damages.
Although an earthquake of that magnitude in New York City is only a 500-year event, these catastrophes are incredibly unpredictable. For example, the seismic zone in Virginia that was rattled in August had never experienced an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 4.8.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
