Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oregon City Paying $350K Linked to Earthquake Warning Sign Suit
Dec 2 2019 // Portland has agreed to pay $350,000 in attorneys’ fees related to a now-repealed policy that mandated warning signs on brittle brick buildings saying they are seismically unsafe. The Portland City Council voted 4-0...
More Storms. Less Damage. But 2019’s Slow Hurricanes Leave Sense of Foreboding.
Nov 30 2019 // The Atlantic Ocean has spawned lots of storms this season while doing much less damage than prior years. But warming waters promise trouble ahead. The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30, has been the eighth...
Wildfire Crisis is Roiling California’s Insurance Market
Nov 27 2019 // Lauris Bye, a homebuilding industry veteran who moved to Southern California’s wildfire-prone hills decades ago, felt confident about the newly built house he was buying about 30 miles north of downtown Los...
Post-Tornado ‘Green’ Rebuild Considered a Mixed Success in Greensburg, Kansas
Nov 27 2019 // A dozen years after a tornado nearly wiped out Greensburg, Kansas, city leaders acknowledge that the decision to rebuild as “the greenest community in America” has been a mixed success. The E-5 tornado on May...
Farewell 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season: 18 Storms, 6 Hurricanes
Nov 27 2019 // The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on November 30, was marked by tropical activity that churned busily from mid-August through October, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
AXIS Capital’s Losses from Japan’s Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $90M-$110M
Nov 26 2019 // AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. announced a preliminary pre-tax loss estimate for Japanese Typhoon Hagibis in the range of $90 million to $110 million, net of estimated recoveries from reinsurance and retrocessional covers, and...
Insurance Claims from Tornado in Missouri’s Jefferson City Exceed $170M
Nov 25 2019 // State insurance officials say Jefferson City, Missouri, residents made more than $170 million in insurance claims after a tornado hit the city on May 22. KMIZ reports Missouri Department of Insurance data shows insurers...
Moderate Earthquake Confirmed off Alaska’s Andreanof Islands Region
Nov 25 2019 // The Alaska Earthquake Center confirmed an earthquake hit the Andreanof Islands region. The center says the magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck at 3:54 p.m. Saturday. The epicenter was 59 miles southeast of Adak, a village of...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Nov 25 2019 // California utility PG&E Corp. has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages...
Housing Crunch in California’s Pushing Developers Deeper into Wildfire Zones
Nov 25 2019 // The Santa Ana winds were blowing as Greg Medeiros ducked behind his Chevy Tahoe on a remote hillside 25 miles from the edge of Los Angeles’s sprawl. He gestured to the valley below, describing his vision of...
Florida Woman Found Guilty of Hurricane Irma Relief Fraud
Nov 25 2019 // A Florida woman has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining Hurricane Irma disaster relief money. Court records show that 37-year-old Karen Latrice Houston was convicted by a jury in Tampa federal court this week of three...
Philippines Taps Catastrophe Bonds to Help Pay for Natural Disasters
Nov 25 2019 // The Philippines, among the world’s most disaster-prone nations, sold its maiden foreign-currency catastrophe-linked bonds to help cover costs of major calamities, in conjunction with the World Bank. The dual-tranche...
Wildfires Likely to Boost California Surplus Lines Homeowners Share; FAIR Plan Expansion Questioned
Nov 22 2019 // Premium volume from homeowners polices written by California’s surplus lines industry, although still small, has doubled over the past four years, seemingly pushed by an increase in wildfires in the state. Some...
Magnitude 3.5 Earthquake Confirmed in Washington
Nov 22 2019 // The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network confirmed a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck the region near Coulee City and Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington state. The network reported the earthquake struck about 8:48 on...
Oregon City Paying $350K Linked to Earthquake Warning Sign Suit
Nov 22 2019 // Portland has agreed to pay $350,000 in attorneys’ fees related to a now-repealed policy that mandated warning signs on brittle brick buildings saying they are seismically unsafe. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the...
Feds Say Florida Officials Bilked FEMA Out of Hurricane Money
Nov 22 2019 // Two former officials of a Florida city are charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money, the U.S. attorney’s office announced...
PG&E Cuts Power to 50K California Homes And Businesses During Wildfire Risk
Nov 21 2019 // About 50,000 homes and businesses across Northern California were without power on Wednesday during the latest planned outage instituted by utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to guard against risk of wildfire during...
California Commissioner Issues Emergency Notice to Expedite Wildfire Claims
Nov 20 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued an emergency notice to all property/casualty insurers doing business in California requesting they expedite claims handling for wildfire survivors to help...
Texas Windstorm Insurer’s Actuarial Committee Recommends 5% Rate Hike
Nov 20 2019 // When the board of directors of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast meets in December, its members will be considering a 5% rate increase recommended by the...
Senate Banking Committee Advances Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal
Nov 20 2019 // Legislation to renew the federal terrorism reinsurance program advanced another step today when it was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The Senate legislation (S.2877) is identical to the bill (H.R. 4634) that...
