The number of catastrophes hitting US properties has been trending down for the past five years – until the second quarter of this year, that is. The April-June period was the second-worst second quarter in the past 10 years, with an estimated $8.8 billion paid out for nine catastrophes. Top of the bill was a thunderstorm that hit 16 states and caused $3.4 billion damage, tropical storm Alison ($2.4 billion) and a series of June hailstorms.