Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Typhoon Shanshan Moves Past Tokyo, Averting Major Disruption
Aug 9 2018 // Typhoon Shanshan spared most parts of Tokyo and is expected to head northward along Japan’s eastern coast, averting major disruption for commuters in and around the capital. The slow-moving storm was located 60...
Texas Governor Renews Hurricane Harvey Disaster Declaration
Aug 8 2018 // Texas Governor Greg Abbott has extended the disaster declaration for 60 counties impacted by Hurricane Harvey last year. Abbott first issued a disaster declaration on Aug. 23, 2017, for Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria,...
IBHS Study Chronicles Hurricane Harvey Wind Damage, Provides Takeaways
Aug 8 2018 // Hurricane Harvey will be remembered as an epic flooding disaster – and rightly so. But there is more to the story of this brutal hurricane which struck in late August 2017, according to the Insurance Institute for...
Wildfires in California Are Mostly Burning in Rural Areas
Aug 8 2018 // Dry, hot and windy conditions are threatening to expand California’s largest wildfires, which so far are burning in largely rural areas, muting their economic impact. The fires, which have killed 12 people and burned...
Typhoon Shanshan Approaches Tokyo, Slowly
Aug 8 2018 // Typhoon Shanshan continued its slow-moving approach toward the Tokyo region, with the tropical storm’s arrival likely to disrupt commuters from Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Authorities are warning that...
Insurance Charity Responding to Historic California Wildfires
Aug 7 2018 // The insurance industry is responding to the massive blazes across California in a way that goes beyond merely paying claims. More than $30,000 has been collected within the last week to help victims of the dozens of...
Texas Commission Seeking Comments for Texas Windstorm Insurance Review
Aug 7 2018 // While the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is not subject to closure by the state’s Sunset Commission, the insurer is subject to periodic review by the commission as required by the Texas Sunset Act. As it...
Tornado Warnings in Wyoming Increasing This Year
Aug 7 2018 // The National Weather Service has issued more than double the number of tornado warnings in Wyoming so far this year than are typically issued. The Casper Star-Tribune reported the service has issued 51 warnings in Wyoming...
Largest Wildfire in California History Continues to Grow
Aug 7 2018 // Twin fires in Northern California being treated as one became the largest wildfire in state history, destroying 443 square miles. The Mendocino Complex fire north of San Francisco was still growing this week as it broke...
Portugal Battles Wildfire as Intense Heat Wave Continues Across Europe
Aug 7 2018 // Emergency services in Portugal continued their fight Monday against a major, four-day wildfire on the south coast that threatened to engulf a hillside town overnight. The Civil Protection Agency said 44 people required...
Powerful Earthquake Slams Indonesian Island of Lombok, Killing at Least 98
Aug 7 2018 // A powerful earthquake flattened houses and toppled bridges on the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok, killing at least 98 people and shaking neighboring Bali, as authorities said Monday that rescuers still hadn’t...
PCI: Majority of Texans Not Prepared for Hurricane Season
Aug 6 2018 // A large majority of Texas residents are not taking necessary steps to protect their property this hurricane season despite the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to a new poll conducted online by SurveyMonkey on...
Hawaii Officials Worry Earthquakes from Eruption Could Damage Roads
Aug 6 2018 // Officials on Hawaii’s Big Island, where the Kilauea volcano has been spewing huge amounts of lava for months, are bracing for the possibility that frequent earthquakes will cut off a major highway. Emergency...
California Governor Seeks Wildfire Aid from Trump as State Battles 17 Blazes
Aug 6 2018 // Gov. Jerry Brown over the weekend called on President Donald Trump to help California fight and recover from another devastating wildfire season. Brown, who inspected neighborhoods wiped out by a wildfire in the Northern...
Buildings Damaged Following Massachusetts Tornado Warning, High Winds
Aug 6 2018 // A tornado warning in Massachusetts has expired, and meteorologists from the National Weather Service are surveying building damage that may have been caused by a tornado. Extensive damage to buildings and trees are...
Hurricane Maria Likely Killed 1,139, Far More Than Government Tally: Penn State Study
Aug 6 2018 // Some 1,139 people are likely to have perished after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September, far more than the official death count of 64, according to a Pennsylvania State University study published Thursday in the...
Dust from Sahara Desert Moves West, Puts Brakes on Atlantic Hurricanes
Aug 6 2018 // Atlantic storm watchers are going to have a hard time seeing the ocean, never mind any tropical systems, as another Saharan swirl of dust from Africa is moving west. The dust, a marker for dry air, has spread out across...
Typhoon Shanshan Heads Toward Tokyo, as 13th Tropical Storm of Season
Aug 6 2018 // Typhoon Shanshan is set to approach the Tokyo area later this week, bringing heavy winds and strong rains to a region suffering from a sweltering heatwave. Shanshan, the 13th tropical storm of the season, is projected to...
Class-Action Status OK’d in Oklahoma Suit Over Earthquakes
Aug 6 2018 // Central Oklahoma residents won’t get a trial this fall for a case against an oil company accused of triggering earthquakes that damaged homes and buildings. A Cleveland County judge has outlined rules for the...
One Year Ago: Reflections on the 2017 Hurricane Season
Aug 6 2018 // It’s hard to believe but August brings us to the one-year anniversary of the watery nightmare that was Hurricane Harvey and the beginning of the remarkable 2017 hurricane season that also featured Hurricane Irma...
