(Bloomberg) -- Dry and warm gusts blowing in from the desert have elevated the wildfire risk in Southern California to critical, several weeks after deadly flames tore through wine country to the north.

The strongest Santa Ana winds of the season threaten more than 14,000 square miles (36,260 square kilometers) covering a population in excess of 19.9 million, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. That includes Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino. They’re expected to last through Thursday.

When a disaster strikes, federal, state, and local governments need a coordinated strategy, accessible data, and a skilled workforce to manage the response. Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods have devastating effects on communities across our country. Since 1980 the U.S. has sustained more than 200 weather and climate disasters, with cumulative costs exceeding $1.1 trillion.

Government agencies should consider leveraging the internet of things (IoT) and other web-driven technologies to obtain timely and accurate data that can better inform decisions and actions. Using the most current technology could help them more efficiently and safely address these costly disasters. However, this type of progress will require more than just employing the IoT to improve emergency preparedness and response; response teams have to be ready to receive, interpret, and take action on the data.

Whether it was natural disasters, cyberattacks, corporate crises, political uncertainty or terrorist activity, risk events made high-profile and often sobering headlines in 2017. Although by no means exhaustive, the following review of the year in risk can help risk professionals learn from the past so that they can better prepare for future threats.

A devastating hurricane season left catastrophic damage across the Atlantic basin, with the most severe storms in more than a decade striking the Caribbean and southern United States in close succession. While the year is not yet over, 2017 is already one of the most expensive in history for natural disasters. Risk Management spoke with individuals from across the risk and insurance community who were involved in the season’s three major Atlantic hurricanes—Harvey, Irma and Maria—to discuss their first-hand experience weathering the storms, managing disaster response and recovering in their wake.

It's hard to conceive of a dark side to giving holiday gifts to friends and loved ones.
But unusual risks associated with three popular types of gifts could make normally happy moments turn sad.

From Property Casualty 360
November 21, 2017

When it comes to shopping at retailers that have suffered a data breach, 75% of Americans say they would be more skeptical about shopping there during the holidays according to a new survey from Generali Global Assistance (GGA).

While 91% of Americans expect to engage in some form of holiday shopping, the majority don’t believe that retailers can adequately protect their personal information.

From Insurance Journal
November 20, 2017

Jaime Rosario Del Real, 61, and son Israel Del Real, 37, have both pleaded guilty to four felony counts for their role in a $400,000 insurance fraud scheme denying workers’ compensation insurance and medical care for injured workers.

The father and son were sentenced to 250 days in jail, 10 years of felony probation and ordered to pay $382,951 in restitution. This case was prosecuted by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

From Insurance Journal
November 16, 2017

The California Department of Industrial Relations has released the 2016 occupational injury and illness data on employer-reported injuries that shows nonfatal worker injured remained steady in the state.

From Risk Management Monitor
November 16, 2017

Holiday parades will be marching down many U.S. city streets during the next six weeks, with millions of revelers expected to attend. And while these are historically joyous occasions, safety is a top concern for businesses located near the festivities—especially considering the high-profile violence that has recently dominated headlines. Rezwan Ali, risk solutions group head of security at Falck Global Assistance, which advises companies about security, safety and travel risks, spoke about the challenges and best practices faced by businesses and employees located near parade routes.

Existing law provides, with respect to contracts and amendments to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2011, with a public agency, as defined, for design professional services, that all provisions, clauses, covenants, and agreements contained in, collateral to, or affecting these contracts or amendments to contracts that purport to require the design professional to defend the public agency under an indemnity agreement, including the duty and the cost to defend, are unenforceable, except for claims that arise out of, pertain to, or relate to the negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. Existing law provides that all contracts and all solicitation documents between a public agency and a design professional are deemed to incorporate these provisions by reference.