Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Supreme Court Rejects Sempra’s Bid to Recover $379M from 2007 California Wildfire Payouts
Oct 7 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co to recover $379 million from customers related to damages it was forced to pay out in litigation after the...
Hurricane Dorian Caused More Than C$105M in Insured Damage to Atlantic Canada
Oct 7 2019 // Hurricane Dorian hit Atlantic Canada on Sept. 7 causing more than C$105 million (US$78.9 million) in insured damage, said Insurance Bureau of Canada, quoting the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).* The...
Lawsuit Says Colorado Railroad Ignited Fires Prior to Wildfire
Oct 7 2019 // A federal lawsuit says nearly 50 fires in Colorado were ignited by a railroad company in the weeks leading up to a major wildfire. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad caused the smaller fires along its tracks...
Earthquake Warning App Coming to Washington Next Year
Oct 4 2019 // Washington state officials have announced an earthquake warning phone application is expected to be available for download October 2020. KING-TV reports that the app ShakeAlert was designed to send people an alert on how...
22 New California Laws Take Aim at Wildfire Danger
Oct 4 2019 // California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of the state in recent years and killed scores of people. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom...
Powerful Typhoon Mitag Lashes South Korea, Leaving 9 Dead
Oct 4 2019 // A powerful typhoon has lashed southern South Korea, with authorities saying Thursday that the storm left nine people dead and five others missing and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes. Typhoon Mitag brought...
Nippon Steel to Shut Typhoon-Damaged Kimitsu Plant until End of December
Oct 4 2019 // Japan’s biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel Corp., said on Thursday one of the two steelmaking plants at its Kimitsu Steel Works will be shut until the end of December, to repair a chimney that collapsed in a typhoon...
Hurricane Lorenzo Lashes Azores, Causing Minor Damage, with Ireland as Next Stop
Oct 3 2019 // Hurricane Lorenzo powered across the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, lashing the Azores Islands with heavy rains, powerful winds and high waves but causing only minor damage, according to authorities. The Azores Civil...
11 Earthquakes Recently Recorded in Kansas’ Jewell County
Oct 2 2019 // The Kansas Geological Survey reports 11 earthquakes were recorded in a northern Kansas county last weekend. The agency’s data shows the cluster of quakes struck north and east of Randall in Jewell County Saturday and...
Texas Mutual Commits $5M to Help Tropical Storm Imelda-Impacted Policyholders
Oct 2 2019 // Austin-based workers’ compensation carrier, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., is offering a grant of $5 million for policyholders affected by Tropical Storm Imelda. The grant is intended to support the recovery of business...
Update: Hurricane Lorenzo Loses Power but Swells in Size as It Heads Toward Ireland
Oct 2 2019 // Hurricane Lorenzo, the largest storm ever to roam the Eastern Atlantic, is forecast to strike the heart of Ireland’s west coast within days carrying tropical-strength winds, driving rain and a huge storm surge. Once...
11 South Carolina Counties to Receive Federal Aid for Hurricane Dorian Damage
Oct 2 2019 // President Donald Trump has issued a declaration approving specific federal assistance for South Carolina areas affected by early September’s Hurricane Dorian. The White House on Monday ordered that federal aid be...
Tornado, Hail, Snow Sweep Through California
Oct 1 2019 // The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in a California field as thunderstorms swept through the central part of the state. Cellphone video posted online shows the towering vortex spinning...
Typhoon Mitag Lashes Eastern China, Heads to South Korea
Oct 1 2019 // After lashing parts of Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost Ryukyu Islands on Monday, Typhoon Mitag is passing eastern China today and then takes aim at South Korea and the remainder of Japan later this week, according to...
Wildfire Risk in Georgia Increasing Amid Southern Drought
Oct 1 2019 // The ongoing drought has made outdoor burning in Georgia more dangerous than previous years, state officials said. In the past three months, the Georgia Forestry Commission says firefighters have responded to – on average...
Council Recommends $4B Plan to Safeguard Oregon from Wildfires
Sep 30 2019 // A task force created by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown says climate change, overstocked forests and understaffed fire teams have placed Oregonians in extreme risk, necessitating a multi-billion-dollar program to safeguard the...
Insured Losses from Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$5 Billion to US$9 Billion: RMS
Sep 30 2019 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, has estimated that the insured loss from Typhoon Faxai will be between $5.0 and $9.0 billion (¥ 500 to ¥950 billion). This estimate includes property damage...
Lawsuit Says Colorado Railroad Ignited Fires Prior to Wildfire
Sep 27 2019 // A federal lawsuit says nearly 50 fires in Colorado were ignited by a railroad company in the weeks leading up to a major wildfire. The Durango Herald reported Tuesday that The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad...
Florida City Faces $200M in Repairs to Sewage, Water Line After Hurricane Michael
Sep 27 2019 // The biggest city devastated by Hurricane Michael last fall has had a recent series of sewage leaks, and local officials say it will cost more than $200 million to repair its sewage and water systems. Television station...
Death Toll from Northern California Wildfire Back Down to 85
Sep 26 2019 // The number of those who died in California’s deadliest wildfire is back down to 85 after authorities determined that a bone fragment previously classified as unidentified belongs to a victim named in January. The...
