Latest Flood Headlines
All the headlines from our Flood Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Coastal Damages from Climate Change Could Cost U.K. Economy Billions by 2050: WWF
Nov 27 2019 // The U.K. economy could face hits of more than 12 billion pounds ($15.4 billion) a year by 2050 from coastal damages alone if no action is taken to combat climate change, according to the WWF. The calculations — made...
Post-Flood Home Buyouts Are Emptying Midwest Towns
Nov 26 2019 // Tammy Kilgore raised the giant claw of a John Deere excavator high in the air, then slammed it down on the roof the house where she had spent nearly her entire adult life. The shingles crunched, but not much else. So she...
FEMA Envisions High-Tech Flood Insurance Program Using Parametrics, Blockchain
Nov 26 2019 // Blockchain technology and parametric insurance should be included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s toolbox as it strives to close the nation’s flood insurance coverage gap, according to a draft...
U.S. Offers $30 Million in Grants to Help Coastal Areas Mitigate Flooding, Rising Seas
Nov 22 2019 // The U.S. government’s oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of...
Report Urges Insurers to Eye Impact of Climate Change on Underwriting, Investments
Nov 21 2019 // Insurers can no longer put off addressing the impact of climate change on their underwriting, pricing, and investment decisions, as well as their bottom lines, a recent analysis from Deloitte asserts. “The escalating...
Trump Signs Month-Long Government Funding That Includes Flood Insurance Program
Nov 21 2019 // President Donald Trump signed legislation on Thursday that will extend funding for a wide range of federal agencies through Dec. 20 and avoid partial government shutdowns that otherwise would have begun on Friday. An...
FEMA Upholds Decision to Deny Individual Assistance After Illinois Flooding
Nov 18 2019 // A federal agency upheld its decision to deny financial assistance to Illinois residents and business owners affected by historic flooding despite granting the state public aid. The Federal Emergency Management...
Venice Suffers 2nd High Tide in a Week as Italy Declares State of Emergency
Nov 15 2019 // Venice suffered its second exceptionally high tide in a week, with waters rising 154 centimeters (61 inches) above their benchmark late morning Friday, the Ansa news agency reported. The historic city is still reeling from...
Venice Floods, Australia Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change
Nov 14 2019 // Extreme floods in Venice, fires in Australia and even an outbreak of plague in China have been attributed to climate change this week, while researchers have warned that global warming could saddle future generations with...
Flooding in Northern England Becomes U.K. Election Issue
Nov 13 2019 // Boris Johnson deployed extra troops to help flood-hit parts of Northern England as he tried to ensure that a natural disaster didn’t damage his election chances. The prime minister convened a meeting of the...
More Than 100 Dams in Ohio Rank as ‘High-Hazard’
Nov 12 2019 // Picturesque, and at times, worrisome. The Muskingum University dam in OHio holds back what locals call “College Lake” on the campus of the private liberal arts college. Perched directly over the inlet to the...
FEMA Postpones Switch to New Risk-Based Flood Insurance Rating Until 2021
Nov 8 2019 // The federal government is delaying implementation of a major change to its pricing formula for federal flood insurance that bases rates on a more accurate assessment of the real flood threat for each home and reflects the...
Typhoon Hagibis to Cost Japan’s Economy $10B, with Insured Losses in Billions: Aon
Nov 8 2019 // Typhoon Hagibis is likely to become one of 2019’s costliest events, with economic costs of more than US$10 billion and insured losses minimally in the billions, according to Aon’s monthly catastrophe...
Vermont Farm Loses 2K Chicken and Turkeys in Flooding, Estimates $60K Loss
Nov 7 2019 // A Vermont farmer says he lost more than 2,000 chickens and turkeys when last week’s flood waters inundated their Richmond farm. Bruce Hennessey, of Maple Wind Farm, says they had moved the animals to higher ground...
Scores of U.S. Dams in Poor Condition Pose Danger to Thousands
Nov 7 2019 // On a cold morning last March, Kenny Angel got a frantic knock on his door. Two workers from a utility company in northern Nebraska had come with a stark warning: Get out of your house. Just a little over a quarter-mile...
Flood Risk Heightened for Southern California Dam
Nov 5 2019 // A California dam could fail during an extreme storm and send water flooding into Mojave Desert communities that are home to about 300,000 people, authorities said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it has...
North Dakota Unveils New Mapping Tool for Flood Risks
Nov 4 2019 // The North Dakota Water Commission unveiled a new interactive mapping tool that provides residents and community leaders with information on potential flood risks. It shows where flooding might occur and to what extent it...
Insured Losses from Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $7B-$11B: RMS
Nov 1 2019 // Insured losses stemming from Typhoon Hagibis in Japan are estimated to range between US$$7 billion and $11 billion, according to Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe modeling firm RMS. While last month’s Typhoon Faxai...
Australia Faces More Severe Cyclones, Wildfires, Floods as Climate Warms: IAG
Nov 1 2019 // Australia faces the prospect of more severe cyclones, wildfires and floods as the climate warms, the nation’s largest insurer said. A 3 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures will lead to higher intensity...
South Dakota Governor Requests Disaster Declaration for Tornadoes, Floods
Nov 1 2019 // Gov. Kristi Noem is requesting a presidential disaster declaration for the damage caused by tornadoes and floods that struck southeastern South Dakota in September. Noem made her request in a letter to President Donald...
