Latest Hurricane Headlines
All the headlines from our Hurricane Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Declares State of Emergency in Response to Ernesto Threat
Aug 27 2006 // As of 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Ernesto was moving over eastern Cuba bringing heavy rains, floods and mudslides, according to the National Hurricane Center. A hurricane watch has been extended along Florida’s...
National Hurricane Center Chief Mayfield to Retire
Aug 27 2006 // Max Mayfield, long-time director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., will retire at the end of the year after 34 years of federal service. Mayfield said he wishes to spend more time with his wife and family,...
Reinsurers Tell Fla. Panel Rate Freedom Key to Insurance Fix
Aug 27 2006 // The basic solution to Florida’s hurricane insurance crisis is for consumers to pay more, despite double-digit increases already levied over two years, insurance officials said Thursday, the anniversary of Hurricane...
TS Ernesto Threatens Gulf; Could Become Season’s First Hurricane
Aug 26 2006 // Miami’s National Hurricane Center is currently tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. As of 11:00 a.m. EDT the storm’s center was located near latitude 15.1 north/longitude 71.2 west...
La. Judge Rules Claims Deadline Extension Laws Constitutional
Aug 25 2006 // A Louisiana state judge on Aug. 23 ruled as constitutional two new state laws giving insurance policyholders more time to sue their insurers or file claims over damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. District Court Judge...
Industry Group: Rita Did $150M Damage to 23 La. Chemical Plants
Aug 24 2006 // Major repairs are done and production is back to pre-storm levels at Southwest Louisiana’s 23 biggest chemical plants and oil refineries – but Hurricane Rita did about $150 million in damage to the plants...
Ala. Gov. Riley Tours Shrimping Community One Year After Katrina
Aug 24 2006 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley praised the hurricane recovery efforts that have put shrimp boats back on water, rebuilt homes and removed debris in Bayou La Batre, but much work is still ahead, he said during a tour...
Many New Orleanians Unable to Find Affordable Insurance
Aug 23 2006 // Attorney Vallie Schwartz fell in love with the 130-year-old Victorian shotgun in New Orleans’ French Quarter, which like all grand houses in this former Spanish enclave has tall, cathedral ceilings and brightly...
Rebuilt Homes Higher, More Varied, In Line with Stricter Building Codes
Aug 22 2006 // As homeowners along the Gulf Coast have started rebuilding and repairing since Hurricane Katrina hit nearly a year ago, they’ve been learning a new vocabulary and have been bombarded with recommendations. In many...
Coalition Says Insurer Group’s Disaster Plan is Insufficient
Aug 22 2006 // With the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina one week away, the American Insurance Association (AIA) has unveiled a National Catastrophe Agenda designed to reinforce resilience to catastrophic hurricanes. But not...
Trial Attorneys Claim Insurers Putting Profits Over People in Katrina’s Wake
Aug 22 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf Coast, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (AFTL) and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) are launching a national petition drive calling on insurance...
A Year Later, Insurers Report 95% of Katrina Claims in La. and Miss. Settled
Aug 22 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina, the insurance industry says that nearly 95 percent of homeowners insurance claims have been settled in Louisiana and Mississippi, insurance companies have paid billions in storm damage...
Insurers: Trial Bar Short on Facts in Katrina Charges
Aug 22 2006 // Trial attorneys’ charges that the insurance industry is putting profits over people in the handling of claims from Hurricane Katrina are being dismissed by industry trade groups. The Florida Insurance Council (FIC),...
La.’s Gov. Blanco: No Quick Fixes for Insurance Woes
Aug 21 2006 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco met with insurance industry executives on Aug. 17, seeking ways to keep insurers writing homeowners policies in Louisiana after the twin punches of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The private...
Texas AG Says Hotel and Owner Exploited Hurricane Evacuees
Aug 21 2006 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he has sued an economy motel operator for charging exorbitant rates to evacuees fleeing Hurricane Rita in September 2005. The suit alleges the Lone Star Motel in Waco, Texas,...
Not telling consumers about risks may be an agent’s biggest risk
Aug 21 2006 // Every year, just before daylight savings time rolls around, I get a package in the mail with a 9-volt battery. The package is from my mortgage company, sending me a reminder to change the battery in my smoke detector. That...
Hurricane forecasts lighten up
Aug 21 2006 // Forecasters are saying that the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season should be slightly less active than earlier predicted. The National Hurricane Center and other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies said...
Finding the ‘Road Home’ in Louisiana
Aug 21 2006 // Louisiana officials expect 123,000 homeowners with damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita are eligible to receive grants from the state’s $7.5 billion “Road Home” housing aid program, The Associated...
Not telling consumers about risks may be an agent’s biggest risk
Aug 21 2006 // Every year, just before daylight savings time rolls around, I get a package in the mail with a 9-volt battery. The package is from my mortgage company, sending me a reminder to change the battery in my smoke detector. That...
Floridians begin to question insurers’ ‘pup companies’
Aug 21 2006 // A lot of Floridians have had their homeowners insurance company — call it XYZ Florida Insurance — increase their premium because of huge losses. Weeks later, the residents see XYZ Insurance USA, based in...
