Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Eastern Australia Wildfires Destroy Up to 30 Homes
Oct 10 2019 // About 500 firefighters were battling out-of-control wildfires in eastern Australia that have destroyed up to 30 homes. More than 40 bushfires were burning across New South Wales state. Temperatures were cooler Wednesday...
Super Typhoon Hagibis on Track to Hit Japan, Disrupting Rugby World Cup
Oct 10 2019 // Two Rugby World Cup games pitting England against France and New Zealand against Italy have been called off as the powerful Typhoon Hagibis approaches Japan this weekend, organizers confirmed. The decision means both...
PG&E Could Cut Power to Hundreds of Thousands of Californians over Wildfire Fears
Oct 8 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric officials on Tuesday announced plans to cut off power to some 600,000 Northern California customers as a wildfire safety precaution. The outages are expected to begin early Wednesday depending on...
California Wildfire Victims in PG&E Bankruptcy See $13.5B in Claims
Oct 8 2019 // A lawyer for the committee representing wildfire victims in the bankruptcy of PG&E Corp said at a hearing on Monday that the committee sees $13.5 billion as the cost to the power provider for paying claims of the...
Comments Sought on Proposed Claim Rules for Texas Windstorm Insurer
Oct 7 2019 // Texas insurance regulators are seeking input on proposed changes to claims-related rules for the state’s property insurer of last resort along the Texas coast. The Texas Department of Insurance has proposed changes...
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...
