Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Winter Wildfires Scorch Western Oklahoma
Jan 30 2018 // Firefighters say wildfires have scorched hundreds of acres in western Oklahoma, damaging fences and equipment but causing no injuries. Capt. Forrest Valentine of the Clinton Fire Department said Sunday firefighters battled...
Mississippi to Offer Free Vehicle Inspections of Hurricane-Damaged Vehicles
Jan 30 2018 // The Mississippi Insurance Department (MID) and the Mississippi Collision Repair Association are partnering on an initiative designed to protect residents from buying cars damaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Following...
National Hurricane Center: Harvey’s Rains Make It Second-Costliest U.S. Hurricane
Jan 29 2018 // Record-breaking Hurricane Harvey became the second-costliest storm to hit the U.S. and dropped more rain than any other system ever. Harvey, the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. since 2005, killed at least 103 people...
Alaskan Quake Highlights Complexity of Tsunami Warnings
Jan 26 2018 // The powerful earthquake that struck beneath the Gulf of Alaska early Tuesday generated a tsunami, but before gauges could show that it was very small, warnings went out to a vast swath of the state and British Columbia,...
Weather Service Confirms EF-1 Tornado in Mississippi
Jan 25 2018 // The National Weather Service confirms a tornado touched down in southern Mississippi. A mobile home was damaged in the Monday morning storm while some sheds and barns were damaged. National Weather Service meteorologist...
Insured Natural Disaster Losses in 2017 Were 38% of Economic Costs of $353B: Aon
Jan 24 2018 // Insured losses for last year’s 330 natural catastrophes reached US$134 billion, or 38 percent of their economic price tag of $353 billion, according to a report published by Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s...
M7.9 Quake Jolted Alaska, No Tsunami
Jan 24 2018 // A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska’s Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state’s coast and sending some residents fleeing to higher ground. Officials at...
Tree Company Sued, Blamed for 2011 Texas Wildfire that Killed 2
Jan 23 2018 // Texas is suing a vegetation management company that it alleges caused the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history. The lawsuit filed on Jan. 19 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton...
Travelers Manages Q4 Profit Despite Wildfires, Tax Hit
Jan 23 2018 // Property/casualty insurance giant Travelers Companies Inc. reported net income of $551 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, a 42 percent drop compared to $943 million in the prior year quarter. The drop was...
XL Group: Loss Estimates of $45M Related to Southern California Wildfires
Jan 22 2018 // XL Group Ltd. in mid-January announced preliminary estimates of natural catastrophe net losses of roughly $45 million related to the recent wildfires in Southern California and $20 million related to other events. The...
California Earthquake Authority Chief Talks About 1 Million Policies
Jan 18 2018 // Glenn Pomeroy, CEO of the California Earthquake Authority, is as enthusiastic of an earthquake policy salesman as you’ll find anywhere. Pomeroy has headed the state’s privately funded, publicly managed seller...
Insurers Increasing Payments to California Wildfire Victims Sans Itemization
Jan 18 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday released the results of the formal notice he issued last month to all residential property insurers requesting they provide up to 100 percent of contents coverage...
California Commissioner and Legislators Unveil Wildfire Insurance Bills
Jan 16 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and legislators from wildfire-damaged communities across the state unveiled eight bills and two additional legislative proposals proponents say will strengthen consumer...
Philadelphia Insurance Cos. Employees Plant Trees in Wildfire-Devastated Texas Park
Jan 12 2018 // Fifty Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) employees are supporting the company’s efforts to plant 80,000 trees for the third consecutive year through a two-day project near Austin, Texas. Employees have finished...
XL Group: Loss Estimates of $45M Related to Southern California Wildfires
Jan 11 2018 // XL Group Ltd. on Wednesday announced preliminary estimates of natural catastrophe net losses of roughly $45 million related to the recent wildfires in Southern California and $20 million related to other events. The...
Southern California Edison Blamed in Lawsuit for 3 Los Angeles-Area Wildfires
Jan 10 2018 // Edison International’s Southern California Edison was blamed in a lawsuit for three wildfires that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings and killed a firefighter last month in the Los Angeles area. While no official...
California Wildfires Top Arch Capital’s Q4 Catastrophe Losses of $60M-$75M
Jan 10 2018 // Arch Capital Group reports estimated pre-tax losses of $60 million to $75 million from fourth quarter catastrophic events, primarily the California wildfires. This estimated range of losses – net of reinsurance...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending
Jan 8 2018 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending. The report by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreational Research estimates that tourists spent...
Number of Strong Earthquakes in Oklahoma Continues to Decline
Dec 28 2017 // Regulators and scientists say the number of 3.0 magnitude or stronger earthquakes in Oklahoma is declining. The Oklahoma Geological Survey reports the number of quakes of at least that magnitude during 2017 was 294 through...
Wildfires Cost Montana $240M in Tourist Spending
Dec 27 2017 // A new report says summer fires cost the state of Montana $240 million in visitor spending. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported preliminary date released by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and...
