Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insured Losses for Typhoon Faxai Estimated at US$3B-US$7B: AIR Worldwide
Sep 16 2019 // Industry insured losses from Typhoon Faxai, which made landfall in Japan on Sept. 9, will be between 340 billion Japanese yen (US$3 billion) and 740 billion yen (USD 7 billion), estimated Boston-based catastrophe risk...
Humberto Strengthens into 3rd Atlantic Hurricane of 2019, Heading to Bermuda
Sep 16 2019 // Tropical storm Humberto has now intensified into the third Atlantic hurricane of 2019 with top sustained winds of 75 mph, according to weather.com meteorologists in a report issued on Sept. 15. The majority of the showers,...
North Carolina Gov Requests Hurricane Dorian Disaster Declaration
Sep 16 2019 // North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seeking a federal disaster declaration for 13 counties affected by Hurricane Dorian. Cooper made the request to President Donald Trump’s administration Friday. If approved, money...
Tornadoes, Damaging Winds Reported in Michigan, Minnesota
Sep 13 2019 // The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through a cemetery in southeastern Minnesota. The EF-1 tornado with winds of 95 mph struck Woodlawn Cemetery in Winona early Wednesday. The tornado toppled trees and...
‘All Are Safe and Sound’ After Tornado Hits South Dakota Hospital
Sep 13 2019 // When the warning sounded shortly before midnight that a tornado could be approaching, the clock turned into a stopwatch for staff members working the night shift at a behavioral health center at a Sioux Falls...
Arkansas-Missouri Border Area Rattled by Earthquake
Sep 13 2019 // No damage or injuries have been reported after an early Thursday morning earthquake struck near the border of Missouri and Arkansas. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.7-magnitude earthquake was recorded early on Sept....
PG&E Reaches $11B Settlement with Insurers Over California Wildfire Claims
Sep 13 2019 // Bankrupt California utility giant PG&E Corp. resolved a key battle by agreeing to pay $11 billion to settle insurance claims from wildfires blamed on its equipment. An even bigger struggle looms. The settlement with...
New Tropical Storm Threatens Bahamas and Could Set Sights on Eastern Florida
Sep 13 2019 // Tropical storm warnings have been declared for the Bahamas, which was just battered by Hurricane Dorian, evidence of strengthening in a system that forecasters say is moving toward Florida or the Gulf of Mexico. The storm...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Names Actuarial/Underwriting Committee Members
Sep 12 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has identified appointees to its Actuarial/Underwriting Committee. The committee has historically developed recommendations to the TWIA Board concerning association rate filings,...
Buildings Damaged by Severe Weather, Including Likely Tornado, in South Dakota
Sep 12 2019 // Severe weather, including a probable tornado, struck South Dakota’s largest city late on Tuesday, leaving a trail of damaged buildings, downed power lines, fallen trees and some reports of injuries, officials...
Report: Texas Cities Included in Areas with Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage
Sep 12 2019 // In its 2019 Wildfire Risk report, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, CoreLogic, shows that across the nation nearly 776,000 homes with an associated reconstruction cost value of...
Report: $221B in Western U.S. Homes at Extreme Risk of Wildfire Damage
Sep 12 2019 // Nearly 776,000 homes with a reconstruction cost value of more than $221 billion are at extreme risk of wildfire damage, a new report out Thursday shows. The 2019 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report examines single-family and...
Tornado Touched Down Near Portland, NWS Confirms
Sep 11 2019 // A storm cell that passed over Portland, Ore., prompted two tornado warnings after trained storm spotters saw funnel clouds north and south of the Columbia River. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that forecasters said the...
FEMA Officials Arrested on Fraud Charges Linked to Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Aid
Sep 11 2019 // Federal Emergency Management Agency officials who oversaw the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and the former president of Cobra Acquisitions were arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges linked to...
TV Show ‘Young Sheldon’ Fined for Fake Tornado Warning
Sep 10 2019 // The hit CBS Corp. comedy “Young Sheldon” about a child genius, wasn’t so smart when it came to a mock tornado warning, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Even modified, the tornado...
Outrage over PG&E’s Plan to Cap California Wildfire Liabilities at $18B
Sep 10 2019 // California utility giant PG&E Corp. has issued its long-awaited plan for emerging from the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history: Raise debt, offer equity and cap the wildfire liabilities that led to its collapse...
Hurricane Dorian Insured Losses in Caribbean from Wind, Storm-Surge Could Hit $6.5B
Sep 10 2019 // Insured losses in the Caribbean from Hurricane Dorian is estimated at $3.5 billion to $6.5 billion, according to RMS, the risk modeling and analytics firm. This estimate represents insured losses associated with wind and...
Typhoon Faxai Makes Landfall in Tokyo Area, Killing 1, Disrupting Travel
Sep 10 2019 // A typhoon blew across the Tokyo metropolitan area Monday morning, killing one person and causing dozens of injuries, while disrupting rush-hour travel and knocking out power. Several railway and subway operators suspended...
The Aftermath of Hurricane Dorian: Southeast States ‘Dodged a Bullet’
Sep 10 2019 // Residents and the insurance industry in Southeast states are feeling relieved after Hurricane Dorian grazed the U.S. coastline last week just days after it caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas. While the storm was at...
Aon Launches Real-Time Loss Forecasting for U.S. Hurricanes, European Windstorms
Sep 9 2019 // Aon plc has launched Automated Event Response (AER), designed to enable insurers to view real-time portfolio risks from two of the costliest perils: U.S. hurricane and European windstorm. Insurers, which aim to indemnify...
