Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Update: Florida Calls Emergency Ahead of Expected Hurricane Michael
Oct 7 2018 // Michael, the tropical storm that’s been chugging toward the Florida panhandle, is now a hurricane, threatening to bring driving rain and high winds to the region’s agricultural and tourism industry. While Gulf...
Indiana Complex Damaged by Tornado Reopens
Oct 5 2018 // A central Indiana apartment complex ravaged by a 2016 tornado has reopened its first renovated units more than two years after that storm. About three dozen one-bedroom units reopened last week in one building at Park...
California Insurance Commissioner Wants Inventory Requirements Eased for 2018 Wildfire Survivors
Oct 4 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones wants insurers to assist wildfire survivors by voluntarily easing detailed personal property home inventory requirements and to follow the lead of other insurers providing at...
Remnants of Tropical Storm Causes Flooding, Traps Arizona Cars
Oct 4 2018 // Remnants of a tropical storm drenched parts of the desert Southwest this week, trapping some drivers on swamped streets of Phoenix, Ariz. as authorities prepared for possible flash flooding in the state, central Utah and...
Army Corps Preparing its Own Hurricane Protection Plan for Houston
Oct 4 2018 // Later this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will recommend a multi-billion-dollar plan to help protect the Texas coast — the Houston area in particular — from hurricanes. When it will become a reality, however,...
Japanese Typhoons Put Downward Pressure on Creditworthiness of Insurers: S&P
Oct 4 2018 // The recent run of large natural disasters to hit Japan likely has put downward pressure on the creditworthiness of the nation’s three largest non-life insurance groups, according to S&P Global Ratings in a market...
Pennsylvania Warns About Flood-Damaged Vehicles After Hurricane Florence
Oct 3 2018 // With automotive officials estimating that as many as 40,000 vehicles were damaged by flooding from Hurricane Florence, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) are...
Insurtech Jumpstart Rolls out Parametric Earthquake Product for Californians
Oct 2 2018 // A firm that wants to make a name for itself as the first parametric insurtech in the U.S. for earthquakes has officially launched in California, over a year after its anticipated original launch date. Jumpstart Insurance...
Texas Coastal Lawmakers Urge Denial of Windstorm Insurer’s 10% Rate Increase Request
Oct 1 2018 // More than 20 state legislators have signed a letter addressed to Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan requesting that a 10 percent rate increase filed by the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and...
South Carolina Issues Emergency Order to Insurers, Updates Hurricane Florence Data Call
Oct 1 2018 // The South Carolina Department of Insurance has issued two Hurricane Florence-related notices to all property and casualty insurers doing business in the state. SCDOI Director Ray Farmer issued an emergency regulation Sept....
Costs to Fight Wildfires in Utah Double This Year
Oct 1 2018 // Costs to fight wildfires in Utah are increasing by about $1 million a day right now and authorities expect the season to last throughout October. State Forester Brian Cottam says on average, there are roughly 1,100 fire...
Death Toll from Indonesia’s 7.5 Magnitude Quake, Tsunami May Reach Thousands
Sep 30 2018 // The death toll from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi climbed to more than 800, with casualties expected to reach into the thousands as authorities try to reach those...
Typhoon Trami Hammers Japan; Flights and Trains Canceled in Tokyo
Sep 30 2018 // Typhoon Trami is bringing Tokyo to a halt. East Japan Railway Co. suspended all train service in the Japanese capital on Sunday in preparation for the storm, which is hammering the southwest of the country. Flights were...
Dozens of Structures Damaged in Post-Hurricane Florence Storm in Virginia
Sep 27 2018 // Officials say more than 70 buildings have been damaged or destroyed during a storm that spawned at least 10 tornadoes in Virginia from the remnants of Hurricane Florence. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Chesterfield...
Aon Policy Provides Financial Support to Terrorist Victims
Sep 27 2018 // Aon has collaborated with Pembroke Managing Agency at Lloyd’s to develop Public Protection Policy (PPP), which helps businesses provide financial support to individuals affected by a terrorist attack on a...
Insured Losses from China’s Typhoon Mangkhut Estimated at US$1B-US$2B: AIR
Sep 26 2018 // Industry insured losses from Typhoon Mangkhut in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau will be between US$1 billion and US$2 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide. After making landfall in the...
High Winds, Tornadoes Damage Homes, Businesses in Southern Minnesota
Sep 24 2018 // Several tornadoes struck southern Minnesota as severe storms packing powerful winds and heavy rain left a trail of destruction overnight, the National Weather Service said Friday. The extreme weather late Thursday damaged...
Costs to Fight Wildfires in Utah Double This Year
Sep 24 2018 // Costs to fight wildfires in Utah are increasing by about $1 million a day right now and authorities expect the season to last throughout October. State Forester Brian Cottam says on average, there are roughly 1,100 fire...
California Passes Handful Bills Aimed at Protecting Wildfire Survivors
Sep 21 2018 // Five bills that their proponents say will protect wildfire survivors were signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday. The bills are aimed at addressing critical issues facing wildfire survivors including...
California Governor Signs Bill Giving Wildfire Victims Options for Rebuilding
Sep 21 2018 // Homeowners who lose their houses to wildfire will be able to use their insurance to rebuild somewhere else under an urgency bill signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday. Assembly Bill 1800, authored by by...
