Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
After Oil Field Attacks, Saudi Aramco Seeks Terrorism Insurance from London Market
Dec 4 2019 // Saudi Aramco is looking to buy insurance against war and terror attacks after a damaging drone and missile attack on some of its oil facilities in September, two sources told Reuters. Aramco, the world’s largest oil...
Death Toll from Typhoon Kammuri Rises as Storm Passes South of Manila in Philippines
Dec 4 2019 // The death toll from Typhoon Kammuri rose to 17 people after destroying houses and displacing hundreds of thousands on its path across the Philippines. As it neared its exit, tropical cyclone wind signals have been lifted...
Factors that Contribute to Prolonged Recovery after California Wildfires
Dec 4 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As strong winds further exasperate the prime weather conditions for wildfires in California, efforts to save lives and property are a foremost priority of emergency...
Missouri Buying Earthquake Simulator to Increase Awareness of New Madrid Risk
Dec 4 2019 // Missouri emergency management officials are buying a $200,000 machine that will simulate an earthquake to prepare residents for a big temblor in a region where one of the most powerful earthquakes east of the Rocky...
Earthquake Rattles Prague, Oklahoma, Site of Past 5.7 Temblor
Dec 4 2019 // The U.S. Geological Survey has reported a magnitude 3.8 earthquake in Oklahoma near Prague, where a magnitude 5.7 quake struck eight years ago. Prague City Manager Jim Greff says there are no reports of injury or damage...
Insurers Pay $4.1M in Claims During Recent Hurricane Michael Claims Villages
Dec 3 2019 // Claims villages hosted by the Florida Department of Financial Services since August 2019 have led to the resolution of $4.1 million in insurance claims for nearly 750 residents impacted by Hurricane Michael, according to a...
Probe Finds PG&E Failed to Inspect Transmission Lines That Caused 2018 Wildfire
Dec 3 2019 // Bankrupt California power producer PG&E Corp. did not properly inspect and replace transmission lines before a faulty wire sparked a wildfire that killed more than 80 people in 2018, a probe by a state regulator has...
Typhoon Kammuri Hits Philippines, Killing at Least 3, Displacing 500,000 More
Dec 3 2019 // The Philippines reopened its main airport late Tuesday as Typhoon Kammuri heads to the South China Sea, leaving at least three people dead and displacing half a million more. Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s...
Pre-Thanksgiving Tornadoes Strike Parts of Mississippi
Dec 2 2019 // Residents in northeast Louisiana and central Mississippi were cutting up fallen pine trees and assessing damage Wednesday after tornadoes hit the region. Officials in Mississippi said eight to 10 houses were damaged in...
Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Confirmed on Southern Oregon Coast
Dec 2 2019 // A small earthquake hit Port Orford on the southern Oregon coast, shaking the small community. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck at about 5:45 p.m. Friday, with its epicenter about two...
5% Rate Hike Recommended for Texas Windstorm Insurer
Dec 2 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 recommendation by the organization’s actuarial...
California Faces Decade of Unique Wildfire Blackouts
Dec 2 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...
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...
