Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
NOAA Forecasts Near-or-Below Normal Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 22 2014 // In its 2014 Atlantic hurricane season outlook issued today, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a near-normal or below-normal season. NOAA said the main driver of this year’s outlook is the...
Louisianans Get Tax Holiday to Prep for Hurricane Season
May 21 2014 // This weekend, Louisiana residents looking to begin preparing for the 2014 hurricane season can store up emergency supplies with a little gift from the state. Flashlights, batteries, portable generators and other supplies...
FEMA Mobile Hospital Opens in Tornado-Torn Mississippi City
May 21 2014 // The National Mobile Disaster Hospital has opened in a Mississippi city where the local hospital was heavily damaged by an April 28 tornado. It opened Monday in Louisville, and will be used until Winston Medical Center is...
Opinion: 1 Year Later, Moore Is Study in Resilience
May 20 2014 // One year ago today, a deadly EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., making it the third most violent storm in less than 15 years to pummel the small city, which was struck by an EF5 tornado in 1999, and an EF4 in...
Forecaster: 2 Major Hurricanes Possible in Upcoming Season
May 20 2014 // The upcoming Atlantic hurricane session will be one with a higher chance for tropical development close to the U.S. coast, according to the latest expert forecast. At the same time, there should be below normal tropical...
Museum in D.C. Features Florida University’s Hurricane Simulator
May 20 2014 // Florida International University’s 12-fan “Wall of Wind” hurricane simulator is on display at the National Building Museum in Washington. The “Designing for Disasters” exhibit explores new...
U.S. Report: Climate Change Here, Deal With It
May 19 2014 // Climate change is in the here and now, according to a massive report issued earlier this month. The White House’s National Climate Assessment report is part of President Barack Obama’s effort to prepare the...
Policyholders File Claims, Get Payments for California Quake
May 19 2014 // The California Earthquake Authority reported it has paid numerous claims for damage to homes that sustained “relatively minor damage” from the magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck La Habra on March 28. Most CEA...
Wisconsin Researchers Test Affordable Wooden Shelters
May 16 2014 // Bob Falk is frugal and a realist. The research engineer at Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis. could have used expensive lumber, pricey nails and high-grade plywood in his tests to create an almost impenetrable...
Florida Cat Fund Has $13 Billion As Hurricane Season Starts
May 16 2014 // Florida is heading into hurricane season with good news. The state-created fund that backs up private insurers in Florida appears to be in very good financial shape again this year. New projections show that the Florida...
Africa Launches First Catastrophe Risk Insurance Pool
May 16 2014 // In the 1980s images of skeletal Ethiopian babies and their parents, dying from hunger during a devastating famine, helped galvanize global humanitarian and financial aid to drought-ravaged African countries. Three decades...
House Republicans Offer Road Map for the Future of Terrorism Insurance
May 15 2014 // Having previously played (and arguably, lost) two prior rounds of legislative “chicken” with the insurance industry, congressional conservatives are making it known that, this time around, they’re quite...
Role Of Faith After Oklahoma Tornado Depicted in Film
May 15 2014 // The massive tornado that hit Moore nearly a year ago killed 24 people and affected the lives of virtually everyone in the Oklahoma City suburb, and a new film captures the role that faith played in the lives of some...
Tornado Confirmed in Ohio, Storm Damage Cleanup Begins
May 15 2014 // Crews at Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) Valley National Park in northeastern Ohio are cleaning up from a storm that washed out trails and damaged the tracks that carry the park’s scenic railroad. Storms on Monday...
No Hurricanes to Hit Southeast This Year, Say Coastal Carolina Forecasters
May 15 2014 // Scientists at Coastal Carolina University expect no hurricane to make landfall on the East Coast or in the Gulf of Mexico this year. The forecast Tuesday anticipates a “below to near normal” hurricane season in...
City Near San Diego on Evacuation Alert, Several Wildfires Ongoing
May 15 2014 // Several communities around San Marcos, Calif. were on evacuation alert Wednesday afternoon due to a massive wildfire burning, one of several fires now plaguing the area. An immediate evacuation for several neighborhoods...
California’s Next Mega Fire, This Could be The Year
May 13 2014 // When Thomas Jeffery visits states like California, he likes to take some time out to drive around and take a hard look at the conditions and the landscape. As a scientist, Jeffery feels this helps put first-person...
New Mexico Wildfire Spreading Uncontained
May 13 2014 // An uncontained wildfire in New Mexico is approaching 5,000 acres is threatening several structures, ranches and campgrounds, and has forced some evacuations, according to fire officials. The Signal Fire 10 miles north of...
75 Homes Destroyed in Texas Panhandle Wildfire
May 13 2014 // Emergency officials say about 75 homes are destroyed and hundreds of people have evacuated the area after a wildfire burned up to 2 square miles in the Texas Panhandle. The Texas Department of Public Safety said in an...
Wildfire Season Starts Early Amid Drought; Costs to Top $1 Billion
May 13 2014 // U.S. states plagued by historic drought are bracing for an early wildfire season with a cost that may rise as high as $1.8 billion, or almost $500,000 more than what’s available to control the blazes. Oklahomans...
