Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Town Devastated by Wildfire Rebuilds, But Is It Any Safer a Year Later
Nov 7 2019 // There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise, Calif. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire...
PG&E Extending Deadline for California Wildfire Damage Claims
Nov 6 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to extend by two months the deadline to file claims against the company for damages suffered from a series of wildfires in California. Lawyers for the victims asked to extend the...
Boosting Resilience to U.S. Wildfires Should Be Insurance Industry Priority: I.I.I.
Nov 6 2019 // Nearly a year after the deadliest and costliest wildfire in U.S. history, insurers and the customers they cover are revisiting how to reduce their collective exposure to this risk, according to the Insurance Information...
UT Study: Earthquakes in West Texas Have Dramatically Increased
Nov 5 2019 // West Texas has seen a dramatic increase in earthquakes, jumping from 19 in 2009 to 1,600 in 2017 alone, according to a new study published on Nov. 4 by the University of Texas at Austin. The study, which was published in...
Quake Confirmed in Northern California Area Burned by Wildfire
Nov 5 2019 // A small earthquake has rattled a Northern California wine region where a huge wildfire was burning, the United States Geological Survey confirmed. The USGS reported the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 struck at...
North Carolina House Advances $257M Hurricane Aid Bill
Nov 4 2019 // North Carolina legislators are aiming to locate more funds to help with the recovery from recent hurricanes, with an emphasis on lessening damages in future storms. The full House voted unanimously Wednesday night for a...
Texas Mutual Donates $100K to Community Foundation for Dallas Tornado Recovery
Nov 4 2019 // Workers’ compensation insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has donated $100,000 to Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), the state’s largest community foundation. The donation, which will go toward CFT’s...
Severe Halloween Storms Cause Tornado, Kill 1 in Tennessee
Nov 4 2019 // Officials say severe storms that moved through Tennessee on Halloween knocking down trees and power lines led to the death of a man. The Knoxville Police Department tweeted on Friday that 79-year-old George Walker was...
No Major Damage as Earthquakes Rattle Kansas, Oklahoma
Nov 4 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey says several earthquakes were recorded in south-central Kansas and northern Oklahoma this weekend, but no significant damage was reported. The Kansas City Star reports that one earthquake with a...
U.K. Bans Fracking on Concerns About Earthquake Risk
Nov 4 2019 // The U.K. fracking industry suffered a fatal blow as the Conservative government ended its support for the controversial practice. The move, just weeks ahead of a general election, effectively bans new wells using hydraulic...
Insurer Group: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Costliest in Texas History
Nov 4 2019 // The nine confirmed tornadoes that hit the Dallas, Texas-area late on Sunday, Oct. 20 have caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, an insurer trade group says, making it the costliest tornado loss in Texas history. The...
Wildfire Season Rages on in Southern California as Thousands Flee
Nov 1 2019 // A wildfire that erupted overnight near Los Angeles has forced 7,500 people to flee as the tail end of a powerful windstorm takes its a final swing at Southern California. The blaze in Ventura County ripped through more...
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...
Higher Limits of Liability for 2020 Disapproved for Texas Windstorm Insurer
Nov 1 2019 // In mid-October, Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan denied a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to raise its maximum liability limits for new and renewal policies with an effective date of...
CEO Greenberg Says Chubb Has Been Able to ‘Reshape Portfolio’ in Wildfire Zones
Nov 1 2019 // Some insurers may be facing sizable risks stemming from the latest round of California wildfires now raging, but Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg insists his company isn’t one of them. “We do have a quota...
A.M. Best Says Insurers Challenged by ‘New Normal’ of California Wildfires
Oct 31 2019 // While the number of burned acres in 2019 is still well below the number reported last year through October, experts predict the greatest fire potential will occur from now through December as the Santa Ana winds pick up,...
Industry Applauds House Panel Backing of Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal
Oct 31 2019 // Insurance carriers and agents are applauding a House committee vote advancing a bipartisan measure to renew the federal terrorism reinsurance program. The House Financial Services Committee unanimously (57-0) passed the...
Womack Named Vice Chair, Morrison Secretary-Treasurer at Texas Windstorm Insurer
Oct 30 2019 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) have elected two individuals to fill the recently vacated executive positions of vice chair and secretary-treasurer. TWIA public representative...
