Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Aerospace Startup Partners With NASA, USGS to Monitor Wildfires, Storms From Space

Oct 31 2024 // Aerospace startup Sceye has partnered with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey to deploy climate management tools to monitor wildfires and storms from the edge of space, the company and the government agencies exclusively...

Allstate Turns in Net Income of $1.2B After Q3 Hurricanes

Oct 31 2024 // Allstate Corp. said its net income attributable to common shareholders for the third quarter was about $1.2 billion compared to a loss of $41 million during the same time a year ago. The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer...

Update: Taiwan to Suspend Stock Trading Due to Super Typhoon Kong-Rey

Oct 30 2024 // Taiwan will suspend trading on its $2.5 trillion stock exchange Thursday as a powerful typhoon barrels toward the archipelago. Super Typhoon Kong-Rey has intensified as it skirts the Philippines and tracks toward Taiwan,...

Program Uses AI to Send Cash Payments to 1,000 Households Hit by Hurricanes

Oct 29 2024 // Nearly 1,000 hurricane-impacted households in North Carolina and Florida will benefit this week from a new disaster aid program that employs a model not commonly used by philanthropy in the United States: Giving people...

Washington Commissioner: Most Homes in 2023 Wildfire Were Underinsured

Oct 29 2024 // An analysis of the claims paid out after the Gray and Oregon Road fires in Washington last year found that most of the homes destroyed were underinsured. The fires destroyed 366 homes, burning more than 20,000 acres...

Rebuilding from Hurricanes Hinges on Immigrants at Center of US Election

Oct 28 2024 // The efforts to rebuild in Southeastern states after a pair of destructive hurricanes are at risk of being drawn out by shortages of a critical supply of workers: migrants. Builders are anxious about proposals laid out by...

Catastrophe-Bond Funds Suffered Virtually No Losses From Hurricane Milton

Oct 25 2024 // After two weeks of number-crunching, it now seems clear that investors in catastrophe bonds emerged from Hurricane Milton relatively unscathed. In fact, holders of the bonds may be looking at returns of as much as 12%,...

Hurricane Milton Caused $1.5B-$2.5B in Losses to Florida Agriculture

Oct 22 2024 // Hurricane Milton caused an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in damage to Florida’s crops and agricultural infrastructure, according to a preliminary assessment released by the state’s Department of...

Natural Disasters Cost China $13 Billion in January-June

Oct 22 2024 // Natural disasters such as flooding, drought and extreme temperatures cost China 93.16 billion yuan ($12.83 billion) in the first half of this year, with almost 33 million people affected, the government said on...

Claims from Hurricane Milton Continue to Rise in Florida

Oct 22 2024 // Almost two weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, claims and loss totals continue to rise. As of Oct. 21, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said carriers had...

Cuba Hit by Tropical Storm Oscar as It Struggles to End Blackout

Oct 21 2024 // Cuba was dealing with heavy rains and winds today from Tropical Storm Oscar, even as it continues to deal with a prolonged blackout affecting a large swath of the island. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center,...

Maui Wildfire Survivors Will Get An Additional Year of Housing Help From FEMA

Oct 18 2024 // Survivors of last year’s deadly wildfire that decimated a historic Maui town will receive an additional year of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Housing has been a major challenge in...

Wuuii Partnering with IBHS on Wildfire Prepared Home Option for Californians

Oct 18 2024 // Wuuii is partnering with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety to combine IBHS’ Wildfire Prepared Home program and Wuuii’s Madronus Wildfire Defense network to offer an option for California...

HCI Group Expects to Pay $600M to $750M in Claims from Recent Hurricanes

Oct 17 2024 // Publicly traded HCI Group, the Tampa-based holding company for Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty, TypTap and a new condominium insurance reciprocal, is one of the first Florida insurers to report estimated losses...

Natural Disaster Losses Below Average Through Q3, Despite Higher Frequency: Report

Oct 16 2024 // Although 2024 has seen significant global natural catastrophe activity, economic costs were slightly below average through the third quarter, according to Gallagher Re’s latest Nat Cat report. The total economic loss...

Hurricane Milton Insured Losses in $30B-$50B Range, Says Verisk

Oct 16 2024 // Catastrophe modeler Verisk said it expects insured losses from Hurricane Milton will be between $30 billion and $50 billion from damages caused mostly by wind. Verisk’s Extreme Event Solutions group said the range...

Explaining Deductibles After Multiple Florida Hurricanes

Oct 16 2024 // Deductibles serve several purposes. They provide some premium relief for the insured. They make insureds less likely to file smaller claims because either damage falls within the deductible, or is so close to it that the...

Far From Milton’s Eye, Tornadoes Wrought Unexpected Damage

Oct 16 2024 // WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) — Tony Brazzale, a diving boat captain who has lived for 10 years in his Wellington home in southeastern Florida, wasn’t worried about Hurricane Milton. The storm’s center was forecast...

Volunteers Bring Solar Power to Hurricane Helene Disaster Zone

Oct 15 2024 // Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene downed power lines and washed out roads all over North Carolina’s mountains, the constant din of a gas-powered generator is getting to be too much for Bobby Renfro. It’s...

KCC Expects Private Insured Losses of $36B From Hurricane Milton

Oct 15 2024 // Florida’s Hurricane Milton caused private insured losses of about $36 billion, estimated catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. The estimate includes losses from wind, storms surge, and inland flooding to...