Latest Flood Headlines
All the headlines from our Flood Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Terrebonne Parish President Urges Out-of-State Calls on Flood Insurance
Aug 23 2013 // A south Louisiana parish president is calling on residents to contact out-of-state relatives and friends to enlist help in the fight against projected drastic flood insurance costs. Changes to the National Flood Insurance...
Mississippi Officials Seek Ways to Stem Flood Insurance Rate Hikes
Aug 23 2013 // Calling pending flood insurance increases “drastic and draconian,” U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Gulfport met Wednesday with state and local leaders to discuss ways to stem the tide of rising insurance rates that...
FM Global Advises Property Owners to Be Proactive, Address Vulnerabilities
Aug 22 2013 // Business property insurer FM Global is urging property owners to take active measures now to help prevent potential storm losses as the peak of hurricane season approaches. “A big lesson from Hurricane Sandy is that...
When It Comes to Flood Risks, Population Shifts Trump Climate Change
Aug 22 2013 // Draft versions of a forthcoming working group report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — set to be formally released Sept. 27 — have already found their way into the hands of...
Red River Diversion Opponents Sue Army Corps
Aug 21 2013 // Opponents of a planned project to divert the Red River around Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in federal court. The lawsuit filed by opponents south of the metro area accuses...
$48M Floodgate Going into Operation in Terrebonne
Aug 21 2013 // A floodgate designed to insulate portions of Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish from storm surge driven in from the Gulf of Mexico is being dedicated on Aug. 21. The Courier reports the $48 million Bubba Dove Floodgate in...
$56 Bn Economic Loss; $17 Bn Insured: Swiss Re’s 1st HY Disaster Report
Aug 21 2013 // According to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re, “total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $56 billion in the first half of 2013. The global insurance industry covered $20...
Swiss Re Plays Key Role in Oxfam’s Bangladesh Flood Insurance Program
Aug 21 2013 // The global charity Oxfam has announced the launch of a flood insurance program for poor and vulnerable people in the river basin areas of the Sirajganj district of Bangladesh. “Initiated by Oxfam, the project is...
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Addresses Insurance Challenges
Aug 20 2013 // The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued a report Monday that provides recommendations for mitigating harm from future storms. Recommendations include...
Louisiana Flood Board Votes to Continue Oil, Gas Lawsuit
Aug 20 2013 // A New Orleans-area flood control board has refused to back down from its lawsuit seeking damages from nearly 100 oil and gas companies over coastal erosion allegedly caused by dredging and digging for canals and pipelines....
Mississippi Coast Property Owners Told to Buy Flood Insurance Now to Save
Aug 20 2013 // With the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina near, homeowners along the Mississippi Coast also have to brace for possible rate increases of 20 percent for flood insurance and 3.2 percent for wind pool insurance. The...
Stilt Houses in Greenwich, Conn., Foreshadow Impact of New Flood Maps
Aug 19 2013 // In the coastal areas of Greenwich, Connecticut, the latest housing craze requires hydraulic jacks, pylons and stilts. One home towers over its neighbors like a cruise ship. Others look like expensive tree...
Report: More Reforms Needed for Flood, Wind Insurance Programs
Aug 15 2013 // A new report this week from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group, warns that sea level rise and worsening storm surge are increasing both the risks of flooding in coastal communities and the potential for...
Flood Official: Oil Companies ‘Trashed the Hotel Room’
Aug 15 2013 // A Louisiana flood control official is likening the oil and gas industry in coastal Louisiana to rock stars who bring a lot of money to the area but, in his words, “trashed the hotel room.” Stephen Estopinal was...
New Illinois Law Aims to Help Prevent Flooding by ‘Going Green’
Aug 15 2013 // Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation to help Illinois communities prevent flooding by “going green.” Quinn signed the bill in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, one of the communities hit hard by flooding this...
Flooded Colorado Businesses Struggle Without Insurance
Aug 15 2013 // More than 20 businesses hit by flooding in Manitou Springs, Colo. are struggling because of a lack of insurance. City officials say some of the businesses that suffered losses in Friday’s devastating flood did not...
Flood of Legal Questions Now Roils Sandy Survivors
Aug 14 2013 // First they needed blankets and generators. But before long, many of Superstorm Sandy’s bedraggled survivors also needed a lawyer. Thousands of people with damaged homes and businesses have sought help with legal...
Human Activity Muddies Causes of Texas Floods
Aug 14 2013 // Periodic flooding in Texas — one the most flood-prone states in the nation — cannot be firmly linked to climate change due to numerous dams and other man-made structures introduced over the years, according to a...
Tropical Cyclone Utor Slams Philippines, Heads towards China: AIR Worldwide
Aug 13 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports that “Typhoon Utor slammed into the northern Philippine island of Luzon on Monday, August 12, at around 3:00 pm local time (7:00 UTC) with 10-minute sustained winds of...
Judge Dismisses Kmart Flood Damage Claim Against Mississippi City
Aug 12 2013 // A federal judge Friday dismissed Kmart’s claims against the city of Corinth over flood damage to one of the chain’s stores in 2010. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that the city is entitled to...
