Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Louisiana Governor Declares Emergency After Severe Weather, Tornadoes
Dec 23 2019 // Louisiana is under a state of emergency after an outbreak of severe weather and tornadoes swept through the region. Gov. John Bel Edwards issued the order on Dec. 18, after a line of storms associated with a cold front...
PG&E Creditors Sweet Offer to California Wildfire Victims With $13.5 Billion Upfront
Dec 22 2019 // PG&E Corp.’s creditors have sweetened their offer to California wildfire victims, saying they are now prepared to pay $13.5 billion in cash upfront, according to a letter sent on Friday to state governor Gavin...
Insurance Protections Expanded in California Wildfire Areas
Dec 20 2019 // More than a million California homes are now protected under a new state order that temporarily bans insurance companies from dropping customers in areas affected by recent wildfires, officials announced this...
California Earthquake Warning App Sends 1st Public Alert
Dec 20 2019 // California’s new earthquake early warning cellphone app issued its first public alert when a modest tremor occurred this week in a rural area of the state, a newspaper reported. MyShake app project manager Jennifer...
Spending Bills with Flood, Terrorism Insurance Renewals Go to President Trump
Dec 20 2019 // The Senate yesterday went along with House measures that fund the military and rest of the federal government through next September. The government funding measure includes two provisions of particular interest to the...
Puget Sound is an Earthquake Hot Zone, New Study Shows
Dec 19 2019 // Puget Sound has a 75% or greater chance of being struck by a damaging earthquake in the next 100 years, according to a new earthquake danger assessment by the U. S. Geological Survey. The Daily News reports for a region...
