Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Firefighters Increase Containment on California Wildfire Now at 599 Square Miles
Jul 30 2024 // Containment has increased on a fire that exploded in size and in a few days became California’s sixth largest wildfire, destroying hundreds of structures. The Park Fire near Chico, California, has burned 383,619...
Typhoon Remnants Bring Rains, Floods That Kill Four in China
Jul 30 2024 // Record rainfall and widespread flooding killed four people in China’s southern province of Hunan, with roads in rural areas damaged and access to electricity and the internet disrupted, state media said on...
Rebuilding Rome: Upstate New York City Looking Forward After Destructive Tornado
Jul 30 2024 // A tornado that hit this small, upstate city tore off rooftops, leveled brick buildings and toppled the steeples of two historic churches. No one was killed, but the twister left a debris-strewn scar through downtown and...
California Wildfire Grows to 575 Square Miles, Destroying at Least 100 Structures
Jul 29 2024 // At least 100 structures have been destroyed and roughly 4,200 more are being threatened by the Park Fire, near Chico, California, which has burned 368,256 acres and now touches four counties. Containment on the Park Fire,...
Wildfire in Jasper National Park Could Burn for Months, Canadian Official Says
Jul 29 2024 // JASPER, Alberta (AP) — A wildfire that has destroyed hundreds of structures in the town of Jasper is the largest blaze recorded in Jasper National Park in a century and could still be burning months from now, a Parks...
Texas Earthquakes Prompt Oil Regulator to Inspect Disposal Wells
Jul 29 2024 // The Texas oil regulator said it’s investigating after several earthquakes hit the Permian Basin last week. Extremely salty water that naturally comes out of oil wells is discarded by injecting the slurry back into...
Hurricane Beryl Death Toll Grows to At Least 36, Including Those Who Lost Power
Jul 29 2024 // HOUSTON (AP) — The number of Texas deaths after Hurricane Beryl came ashore and knocked out power to millions of residents climbed to at least 36 on Thursday as officials confirmed more people who died in homes that were...
California Wildfire Continues to Spread Rapidly to 164K Acres
Jul 26 2024 // A massive wildfire in Northern California has destroyed an undetermined number of buildings and is threatening thousands or properties, prompting thousands of evacuations orders, as it continued to rage on Friday...
Typhoon Gaemi Lashes Southeast China After Pounding Taiwan, Flooding Philippines
Jul 26 2024 // Typhoon Gaemi lashed towns on China’s coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous...
Devastating Wildfire Burns Down Almost 50% of Western Canadian Tourist Town
Jul 26 2024 // A raging wildfire has devastated the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper, potentially destroying up to 50% of structures, and firefighters were trying Thursday to save as many buildings as possible, authorities...
Typhoon Gaemi Aims for China, Leaves Vessels Capsized
Jul 25 2024 // Authorities in Taiwan raced to find crew missing from a ship that capsized in bad weather after Typhoon Gaemi ripped through the region before losing strength as it heads toward China. Nine Myanmar nationals were missing...
Hurricanes Get the Headlines But Inland Flooding Tops the Disaster List
Jul 25 2024 // Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue. In July 2022, at least 40 people died and 300 homes were damaged when the eastern Kentucky county flooded. It was the 13th time in 12 years...
Canadian Wildfires Threaten Oil Output, Prompt Evacuations
Jul 24 2024 // Wildfires in Canada’s energy-producing Alberta province are threatening almost 10% of the region’s oil production and forcing the evacuation of one of the country’s largest national parks during the peak...
Deadly Typhoon Gaemi Floods Philippines, Shuts Taiwan
Jul 24 2024 // Typhoon Gaemi claimed the lives of at least four people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands in the Philippines, where parts of Manila are flooded even as the storm moves towards Taiwan. Packing sustained...
Heat-Related Texas Deaths Climb After Hurricane Beryl Power Outages
Jul 23 2024 // SPRING, Texas (AP) — As the temperature soared in the Houston-area home Janet Jarrett shared with her sister after losing electricity in Hurricane Beryl, she did everything she could to keep her 64-year-old sibling...
World Records Hottest Day While Wildfires Threaten Mediterranean
Jul 23 2024 // The world recorded its hottest ever day, as many parts of the Mediterranean face extreme wildfire risks. Sunday witnessed the highest average temperature on Earth, breaching a previous record set a year ago, according to...
Taiwan’s Earthquake Proves Prevention Really Is the New Solution
Jul 23 2024 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Once in a while, a would-be major catastrophe has a less catastrophic ending than expected. While the April 2024 Taiwan earthquake still took a large toll, including...
Buffett’s PacifiCorp Suspected of Collusion by Wildfire Victims’ Law Firms
Jul 22 2024 // The law firms leading class-action litigation against PacifiCorp over the 2020 Labor Day weekend wildfires in Oregon want to examine whether the utility owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is colluding with...
Hurricane Beryl Caused Estimated $2-3B in Insured Losses to US Property: Verisk
Jul 19 2024 // Estimated industry insured losses to onshore property from wind in the U.S. for Hurricane Beryl will range between $2 billion to $3 billion, Verisk’s Extreme Event Solutions business unit said. Beryl made landfall...
Allstate Reports Second Quarter Pretax Catastrophe Losses of $2.1B
Jul 19 2024 // Allstate Corp. said it recorded pretax catastrophe losses of about $2.1 billion in the second quarter. The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer on July 18 said the total included $230 million of pretax catastrophe losses for...
