Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FEMA Hurricane Maria Relief Contracts to Face Audits
Oct 12 2018 // A new law requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency to investigate how it came to award Hurricane Maria relief contracts to a company with an unproven record. The Associated Press reported last year that the...
A.M. Best: Insurer Losses from Hurricane Michael Will Be ‘Significant’
Oct 12 2018 // Insurers, reinsurers and ILS investors could face significant losses from Hurricane Michael, a major Category 4 storm that began its assault on the Florida Panhandle Wednesday, according to a briefing from A.M. Best. Best...
Fast, Furious: How Michael Became a 155mph Monster Hurricane
Oct 11 2018 // Moist air, warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, and ideal wind patterns supercharged Hurricane Michael in the hours before it smacked Florida’s Panhandle. Hurricane Michael was barely a hurricane Tuesday morning, with...
Woes of California Wildfire Victims Include Cleanup Crews, Fraud
Oct 11 2018 // One year after a devastating series of wildfires ripped through Northern California wine country, destroying thousands of homes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ first experience cleaning up after a wildfire has...
Natural Disasters in September Bring Costliest Damages to Date for 2018: Aon Report
Oct 11 2018 // Hurricane, flood, and earthquake damages made September the costliest month for natural catastrophes in 2018, according to a report from Aon’s Impact Forecasting team. September is typically the busiest month for...
Reinsurers Including AIG’s Validus Await Hurricane Michael Claims
Oct 11 2018 // American International Group Inc.’s Brian Duperreault spent his first year as chief executive officer on a rebuilding effort, and his biggest acquisition is the one that can magnify the insurance giant’s...
After Battering Florida, Hurricane Michael Heads for Georgia, Carolinas
Oct 11 2018 // Hurricane Michael, the third most powerful storm ever to strike the U.S. mainland, headed northeast on Thursday, weakened but still set to soak Georgia and the Carolinas after devastating the Florida Panhandle. A man was...
CoreLogic Estimates Hurricane Michael Losses Could Top $4.5B; Top 10 Insurers Affected
Oct 11 2018 // Hurricane Michael’s torrential rain, storm surge, and hurricane-force maximum sustained winds that reached 140 miles per hour Wednesday could result in a historically devastating event for the northeastern Gulf...
Losses to North Carolina Schools from Florence Worse than Hurricane Matthew
Oct 11 2018 // North Carolina’s public school officials expect damage from Hurricane Florence to well exceed school losses after Hurricane Matthew two years ago, a Department of Public Instruction official told the state’s...
AIR: Hurricane Michael Strongest Storm to Hit Florida Panhandle on Record
Oct 10 2018 // Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm hitting Florida Wednesday with wind speeds of more than 150 miles per hour, is not just a major storm for the State of Florida, it is the strongest storm to hit the Florida Panhandle...
Georgia Insurance Chief Says to Prepare for Hurricane Michael; State of Emergency Issued
Oct 10 2018 // Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a State of Emergency Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Michael, which was expected to slam Florida as a Category 4 storm then travel northeast towards Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday...
Duke Energy Braces for Second Hurricane Hit as Michael Nears Florida
Oct 10 2018 // Utilities are warning that lights in the Carolinas may go out for the second time in a month, thanks to Hurricane Michael. Duke Energy Corp. said Michael may trigger outages, some lasting for several days, in North...
4 Small Tornadoes Confirmed in Oklahoma, 2 in Texas
Oct 10 2018 // The National Weather Service reported that six small tornadoes from a single storm system hit Texas and Oklahoma, including one that forced the closure of a state highway in northeastern Oklahoma for more than six...
Fast-Moving Hurricane Michael, Now Category 4, Threatens Florida Panhandle
Oct 10 2018 // Hurricane Michael, with winds strengthening to 145 miles an hour, is poised to be the strongest storm to hit the continental U.S. since 2004, with a life-threatening surge and the potential to cause $16 billion in...
Northern California’s Cascade Wildfire Tied to PG&E Equipment
Oct 9 2018 // PG&E Corp.-owned equipment caused the Cascade fire in Northern California last year, state investigators have determined. Sagging power lines were the ignition source of the blaze, the California Department of Forestry...
Oklahoma Tornado Forces Closure of State Highway
Oct 9 2018 // The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a state highway in the town of Fairfax in Osage County has been closed because of tornado damage, the Tulsa World newspaper reported. The newspaper says there have been no reports of...
Update: Hurricane Michael Could Bring 12 Ft. Storm Surge to Panhandle Wednesday
Oct 9 2018 // Michael is forecast to become the second hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in a month as it heads toward Florida with winds of 90 miles per hour. The fast-moving storm has already sent cotton prices to a one-week high...
Hurricane Michael Headed Towards Florida Panhandle, 13 Killed by Storm in Central America
Oct 9 2018 // Florida’s governor mobilized National Guard troops and ordered Gulf Coast residents to head inland or evacuate as Hurricane Michael churned toward shore on Monday, with the storm forecast to strengthen rapidly before...
CoreLogic: 57K Homes in Florida Totaling $13.B RCV At Risk from Hurricane Michael
Oct 9 2018 // At least 57,000 homes along Florida’s Gulf Coast with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of about $13.4 billion are a potential risk of storm surge damage from Hurricane Michael, according to a data analysis released...
Florida Activates Disaster Fraud Teams Ahead of Hurricane Michael
Oct 8 2018 // The Florida Department of Financial Services Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) has been activated ahead of what is expected to become Hurricane Michael and will be deployed in the affected areas to protect...
