Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
LA County Launches Investigation Into State Farm Over Wildfire Claims
Nov 13 2025 // Los Angeles County is conducting an investigation into State Farm’s handling of insurance claims from the devastating L.A. wildfires in January. The investigation was ordered by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors,...
Five Reasons Why the US Escaped a Hurricane Landfall So Far This Year
Nov 13 2025 // A weather forecasting organization is offering up five reasons why the U.S. wasn’t hit by a hurricane this season, despite forecasts that called for an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with numerous anticipated...
Mounting Oregon Wildfire Claims Threaten Ratings of Berkshire’s PacifiCorp
Nov 13 2025 // A Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co.-owned utility is at risk of losing its investment-grade credit rating as it expects to have to pay up more money for litigation brought by victims of 2020 wildfires in Oregon. PacifiCorp...
Small Plane on Hurricane Relief Mission to Jamaica Crashes in Florida Neighborhood
Nov 12 2025 // A small turboprop plane on a hurricane relief mission to Jamaica crashed Monday morning into a pond in a gated residential neighborhood of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, killing two people shortly after...
Michigan Attorney General Urges Lawmakers to Strengthen Anti-Terrorism Law
Nov 12 2025 // Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Deputy Solicitor General Eric Restuccia testified before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee last week in support of a bill that would strengthen the...
Hurricane Melissa Shows How Quickly Climate Change Is Outstripping Defenses
Nov 12 2025 // Jamaica has invested tens of millions of dollars in bolstering coastal defenses by planting mangroves, building seawalls and strengthening urban infrastructure. It wasn’t close to enough to withstand Hurricane...
New Zealand Firefighters Say Tongariro Wildfire Is Coming Under Control
Nov 10 2025 // A wildfire that swept across thousands of hectares of New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park appears to be coming under control, officials said. Residents are being allowed back into the area following an earlier...
Typhoon Set to Swing Toward Taiwan After Ripping Philippines
Nov 10 2025 // Typhoon Fung-Wong is forecast to swing toward Taiwan after the powerful storm struck the Philippines’ northeast late on Sunday, causing widespread flooding and the suspension of government operations. The cyclone —...
Jamaica Catastrophe Bond Headed for Full Payout After Hurricane, World Bank Says
Nov 7 2025 // Investors in Jamaica’s catastrophe bond now face a 100% payout after Hurricane Melissa set off a full trigger event, according to the World Bank. Jamaica’s $150 million cat bond, which was arranged by the World...
Wildfire Victims Ask Gov. Newsom to Call for Insurance Commissioner’s Resignation
Nov 6 2025 // A few of the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires in January are asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for the resignation of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara over reforms Lara pushed that were designed...
KCC Estimates Privately Insured Losses From Hurricane Melissa Will Hit $2.4 Billion
Nov 6 2025 // Catastrophe modeling company KCC estimates that privately insured losses from Hurricane Melissa will hit $2.4 billion. This estimate includes insured damages to residential, commercial, and industrial properties in Jamaica...
Zurich Insurance Sees No Material Loss From Hurricane Melissa, CFO Says
Nov 6 2025 // Zurich Insurance does not expect any material financial losses from claims related to Hurricane Melissa, the insurer’s finance chief Claudia Cordioli said on Thursday. “A large number of members of those...
Here’s How Much Hurricane Melissa Was Worsened by Climate Change
Nov 6 2025 // Hurricane Melissa became the most powerful storm on record to strike Jamaica in part because of water made hotter and air made wetter by global warming, a new analysis has found. The storm was also one of the strongest to...
Two Men Charged with Terrorism Plot at LGBTQ+ Bars in Detroit Suburb
Nov 5 2025 // Two 20-year-old men who had acquired high-powered weapons and practiced at gun ranges were scouting LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit in September for a possible Halloween attack, authorities said Monday in filing...
Philippine Typhoon Deaths Climb to 116 as New Storm Looms
Nov 5 2025 // Typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 116 people in the Philippines, becoming the deadliest storm to hit the Southeast Asian nation in a year, with dozens more missing. The typhoon, locally known as Tino, also displaced more...
Update: Jamaica to Get Record $70.8M Parametric Payout for Hurricane Melissa
Nov 4 2025 // The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) announced it will make a payout of US$70.8 million to the government of Jamaica to cover damages from Hurricane Melissa. This marks the largest single payout in the...
Typhoon Kalmaegi Kills 21 as It Pummels Central Philippines
Nov 4 2025 // Typhoon Kalmaegi killed 21 people and displaced nearly 400,000 more as it dumped heavy rains and caused widespread flooding in central Philippines, according to officials and local media. Many of the fatalities were in...
Insured Losses From Hurricane Melissa Could Reach $4.2 Billion, Verisk Estimates
Nov 3 2025 // Insured losses from Hurricane Melissa’s strike on Jamaica are expected to range between $2.2 billion and $4.2 billion, according to estimates from data analytics firm Verisk. The Category 5 hurricane made landfall in...
Natural Disaster Claims in 2025 to Again Top $100B Despite ‘Abnormally Low’ Q3 Events
Nov 3 2025 // Global insured losses from natural catastrophes during the first nine months of 2025 are estimated to hit $105 billion, bringing the sixth consecutive calendar year with losses topping $100 billion and the eighth year...
Wildfire Forces Rural Community in Southern Texas to Evacuate
Oct 31 2025 // Thick smoke blanketed a rural community in southern Texas and many residents were ordered to evacuate as firefighters worked to contain a blaze Wednesday evening, officials said. The Mill Fire in Gregory, Texas, about 150...
