Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Puerto Rico Hit with Second Earthquake on Southern Coast; 4,000 People in Shelters
Jan 12 2020 // A magnitude 5.9 quake shook Puerto Rico on Saturday (January 11) causing millions of dollars of damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools. The U.S....
Hundreds Left Homeless, Thousands Without Power from Puerto Rico Earthquake
Jan 9 2020 // Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century. The magnitude...
New Policy Contracts Now in Effect at Texas Windstorm Insurer
Jan 8 2020 // Texas’ insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the coast says new terms and conditions for policies with an effective date on or after January 1, 2020, are now in place. The updated coverages, terms, and...
Tornado Damages Buildings in Central Florida City
Jan 7 2020 // The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in a central Florida community Saturday and caused around $20,000 in damage to city property. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado traveled a quarter...
Update: Australia’s Firefighters Take Advantage of Cooler Weather to Help Quell Wildfires
Jan 7 2020 // Firefighters are taking advantage of cooler weather to quell southeastern Australia’s wildfires that have killed at least 24 people and prompted stirring messages from stars at the Golden Globes. Some 130 blazes...
Pool Re Takes Steps to Make Terrorism Cover More Accessible to U.K. Businesses
Jan 6 2020 // Pool Re, Britain’s leading terrorism reinsurer, announced it is taking steps to help reduce costs and improve the accessibility of terrorism insurance for businesses in the U.K., in part by expanding the definition...
Australia Sees No End to Unprecedented Wildfire Crisis
Jan 6 2020 // Exhausted firefighters welcomed cooler weather and patchy rain in blaze-ravaged southeastern Australia Monday after a calamitous few days, even as authorities warn of a return to dangerous conditions later this week. With...
U.K. MGA Optio Buys Political Violence and Terrorism MGA, Newbridge Risk Partners
Jan 3 2020 // Optio, the London-based MGA that comprises Ascent Underwriting, Cove Programs and broker Bay Risk Services, announced it has acquired specialist political-violence and terrorism MGA Newbridge Risk Partners from Castel...
Update: The Escalating Costs of Australia’s Wildfire Disaster
Jan 3 2020 // Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world’s driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the...
Australia Breaks Records for High Temperatures, Low Rainfall as Wildfires Keep Raging
Jan 2 2020 // As massive wildfires devastate swathes of Australia and supercharge the debate over the impact of climate change, government data show the nation has never suffered a hotter or drier year than 2019. The average temperature...
Operational Changes Coming for 2020 for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association
Dec 31 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has posted on its website a summary of operational and policy changes that go into effect in 2020 as a result of new laws passed in 2019 by the state’s Legislature. Following...
Australia’s Wildfire Crisis Intensifies as Locals, Tourists Seek Refuge on Beaches
Dec 31 2019 // Australia’s wildfire crisis intensified on Tuesday as coastal towns across the southeast caught ablaze, forcing thousands of stranded tourists and locals to seek refuge on beaches. Thick black smoke billowing from...
Typhoon Phanfone Kills at Least 41 in Philippines, Destroys Homes, Crops
Dec 30 2019 // Typhoon Phanfone killed at least 41 people when it slammed into the central Philippines on Christmas Eve, with dozens still injured or missing, according to the agency which oversees disaster response. The 21st cyclone to...
Thousands of Tourists Evacuated as Wildfires Sweep Through Southeast Australia
Dec 30 2019 // Thousands of holiday-makers have evacuated a popular tourist spot in southeast Australia as a heatwave and strong winds fuel wildfires sweeping through the region. But with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104...
Tornado Warning Sirens Failed to Sound Before Deadly Alabama Twister
Dec 27 2019 // Warning sirens failed to sound before a tornado struck a north Alabama community last week, killing two people, but officials said it probably wouldn’t have mattered even if they had. The area where an EF-2 tornado...
Alaska Earthquake Sensors Require More Funding to Maintain
Dec 27 2019 // A project that maintains seismic monitoring stations in Alaska needs more funding to continue fully operating, officials said. Scientists, lawmakers and federal agencies are promoting the permanent installation of the...
Insured Property Losses for December 2018 Sydney Hailstorms Rise to A$798M: PERILS
Dec 27 2019 // The fourth and final insured property loss estimate for the hailstorms that hit the greater Sydney region in December 2018 rose to A$798 million ($553.2 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based...
Texas House Committee Hearing on Windstorm Insurance Legislation Set for Jan. 15
Dec 27 2019 // The insurance committee in the Texas House of Representatives will hold a hearing on Jan. 15 to consider the state of rulemaking and other governmental actions with regard to legislation passed in 2019 affecting...
Vatican Tribunal Processes ‘Tsunami’ of Clergy Sex Abuse Complaints
Dec 24 2019 // The Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints saw a record 1,000 cases reported from around the world this year – and still some regions that haven’t reported any allegations at all. The...
Alabama Town Picks Up the Pieces After EF-2 Tornado
Dec 23 2019 // Daylight broke Tuesday (Dec. 18) on Colbert Heights mountain in Alabama to reveal the damage and destruction that a late Monday afternoon tornado left in its wake. Some work crews even beat the daylight to the area as the...
