Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Carolina City to Receive $1.45M for Hurricane Florence Damage
Dec 8 2020 // A coastal city in South Carolina is getting $1.45 million from the federal government to repair damage caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018. The U.S. Department of Commerce is awarding the grant to Georgetown to improve...
Deadline for FEMA Help for Louisiana Hurricane Delta Victims Looms
Dec 8 2020 // Renters and homeowners in parishes designated for FEMA assistance afterHurricane Delta have until Dec. 16 to register for help, the federal agency said. Federal assistance includes help for temporary housing, rental...
USDA Names Louisiana Hurricane Natural Disaster Areas; Ag Producers Eligible for Aid
Dec 7 2020 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated several parishes disaster areas as a result of damage and losses caused by Hurricane Laura’s strong winds in late August, according to Louisiana Commissioner...
Dual FEMA Programs Aim to Provide Housing for Louisiana Hurricane Victims
Dec 7 2020 // Louisiana residents affected by Hurricanes Laura and Delta could be eligible for temporary housing under two federally administered programs. Under the Multifamily Lease and Repair Program, the Federal Emergency Management...
PG&E Rate Hike in California Aimed at Easing Wildfire Risk
Dec 7 2020 // Pacific Gas & Electric’s household customers will be hit with an average rate increase of 8% to help the once-bankrupt utility pay for improvements designed to reduce the risks that its outdated equipment will...
Farmers in 21 Louisiana Parishes May Qualify for Hurricane Laura Aid
Dec 4 2020 // Farmers in 21 north and central Louisiana parishes may qualify for low-interest loans to cover losses from Hurricane Laura in August. These are parishes which did not already qualify under President Donald Trump’s...
Wind Whips up Wildfire in California Canyons, Residents Flee
Dec 4 2020 // Powerful gusts pushed flames from a wildfire through Southern California canyons on Thursday, one of several blazes that burned near homes and forced residents to flee amid elevated fire risk for most of the region that...
Many Californians Being Left Without Homeowners Insurance Due to Wildfire Risk
Dec 4 2020 // Acquiring home insurance has long been a mundane but necessary chore. In California, for hundreds of thousands of residents, it’s turned into a labyrinthine quest that leaves people with expensive, bare-bones...
Central American Storms in 2020 Preview What’s Ahead with Climate Change: Experts
Dec 4 2020 // HAVANA/GUATEMALA CITY – Villagers in Guatemala’s Mayan hillside hamlet Sanimtaca had been about to harvest their cardamom crops that take three years to grow when waves of floodwater triggered by two tropical...
Flood Insurance Lessons Learned from the 2020 Hurricane Season
Dec 4 2020 // At long last, the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has officially ended. The grim statistical tally highlights a dramatic year, the most active in recorded history. This year saw 30 named storms and 13 hurricanes, of which 6...
2 Moderate Quakes Confirmed Around Aleutian Communities in Alaska
Dec 3 2020 // Two sizable earthquakes in the North Pacific on Tuesday shook several communities in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska but there were no immediate reports of damage, the Alaska Earthquake Center confirmed. The center reported...
2020 Hurricane Season Set Multiple Records
Dec 3 2020 // A record-setting Atlantic hurricane season that saw the highest number of named storms officially came to a close Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set...
Louisiana Begins Clearing Hurricane-Driven Sediment from Channel so Ships Can Pass
Dec 2 2020 // Port officials have begun clearing a shipping channel in Louisiana after sediments pushed into the waterway by hurricanes made the water too shallow for some vessels to pass safely. The work on Port Fourchon’s Belle...
Hawaii Gets Through 2020 Hurricane Season Sans Major Impact
Dec 2 2020 // The 2020 hurricane season set records with the number of storms in Atlantic Ocean regions, but Hawaii escaped largely unscathed in the season that has now drawn to a close. The Central Pacific basin area experienced only...
Damage Toll from Hurricane Zeta Totals Nearly $90M in Mississippi
Nov 30 2020 // Hurricane Zeta left a trail of destruction and millions in damage in Mississippi when it came ashore Oct. 28, state officials said. The state has documented tens of millions in damage from the storm, which had 100 mph...
Tornado Causes Damage, Injuries in Arlington, Texas
Nov 30 2020 // A pre-Thanksgiving Day tornado swept through parts of the Dallas-area city of Arlington on Nov. 24, damaging several apartment complexes and other buildings, displacing 75 families and causing minor injuries to three...
Minor Earthquake Reported in Massachusetts
Nov 30 2020 // A minor earthquake was registered Sunday in Massachusetts in roughly the same area where a more significant one struck earlier this month, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The agency’s National Earthquake Information...
California Regulator Raising Concern with PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Measures
Nov 25 2020 // The California Public Utilities Commission has raised concerns over certain deficiencies that it says could affect PG&E Corp.’s ability to provide safe and reliable service, the power provider disclosed in a...
Reno Fire Department Says Wildfire Destroyed 5 Homes, Damaged 24
Nov 20 2020 // Authorities now say five homes were destroyed and 26 damaged by a wind-driven wildfire that roared through a Reno, Nev., neighborhood. Of the homes damaged Tuesday, three were heavily damaged and 21 had minor damage due to...
Louisiana Issues Hurricane Zeta Data Call
Nov 19 2020 // Louisiana is seeking information from property/casualty insurers in the state about the impact of Hurricane Zeta. This latest data call from the Louisiana Department of Insurance is the third hurricane-related data call...
