Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Flooding Worries Grip New Orleans as Hurricane Season Nears
May 29 2018 // Dr. Lauren Morris’s dental office is in sight of one of the pumping stations designed to push water out of New Orleans. But despite that proximity, the roughly year-old business has already flooded. Now with the June...
FEMA Reorganizing, Top Jobs Unfilled as Hurricane Season Gets Underway
May 29 2018 // With the hurricane season beginning, top jobs at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency remain vacant and critics say that will make it harder for the government to respond to disasters. FEMA lacks a...
Report Blames PG&E Power Lines for 4 of Northern California Wildfires
May 28 2018 // PG&E Corp.’s equipment was responsible for causing four of the smaller wildfires that tore through Northern California last year, according to the first report issued by state investigators. The fires in Butte...
Oklahoma Earthquakes Lead to More Injection Well Shut Downs
May 25 2018 // The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Oil and Gas Division is directing some injection wells in north-central Oklahoma reduce injection volumes and others to stop operations. The directive issued Wednesday comes...
Hawaii, Central Pacific Could See Handful of Hurricanes This Season
May 25 2018 // The Central Pacific could see anywhere from three to six hurricanes over the next six months, forecasters predicted Wednesday. That would be an increase over the two named storms last year. Storm activity is likely to be...
Harvey-Arkema Lesson: Chemical Plants Must Plan for Natural Disasters
May 25 2018 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Thursday urged chemical plants to weigh the risks of natural disasters just as they would the integrity of pipes and production equipment. “Such facilities should perform an analysis...
What NOAA Forecasts for 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 25 2018 // On the heels of the costliest hurricane year on record, the Atlantic is expected to produce five to nine of the mighty storms during the six-month season that starts June 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Florida Hurricane Fund in Good Shape for Storm Season
May 25 2018 // The Florida fund that helps private insurers pay out claims after a hurricane remains in good shape heading into a storm season. Despite losses from Hurricane Irma, estimates show the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund...
North Carolina Storm Recovery Chief Accedes Frustrations Over Hurricane Matthew Recovery
May 23 2018 // North Carolina’s emergency management chief acknowledged a laborious process for homeowners seeking federal funds for repairs due to Hurricane Matthew and is looking for improvements looking to the next storm. While...
Weather Service: Possible Tornado Touched Down in North-Central Oklahoma
May 22 2018 // The National Weather Service in Tulsa says a possible tornado touched down in north-central Oklahoma. Meteorologist Joe Sellars says the potential twister was only on the ground briefly Saturday afternoon between the towns...
New Jersey Reminds Residents, Insurance Companies to Prepare for Hurricane Season
May 22 2018 // The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance is urging the insurance and banking companies it regulates, as well as New Jersey residents, to prepare now for hurricane season, which officially begins June 1. All...
XL Catlin Adds Nieves to War, Terrorism, Political Violence Team in Atlanta
May 21 2018 // XL Catlin has promoted Lindsey Nieves to AVP, underwriting manager in its regional US War, Terrorism & Political Violence insurance team for the South and Central zone, which is headquartered in Atlanta. According to...
Insurers’ Worst Fear: Cyber Hurricane or Silent Cyber?
May 21 2018 // Insurers in the cyber insurance segment have enjoyed exponential growth in the market over the last 10 years, and that is expected to continue as the world becomes even more connected via the internet. But while the growth...
More Texans Exposed to Tornadoes Amid Urban Sprawl
May 18 2018 // Mark Fox cringes every time he relives the day his worst weather nightmare came true. April 3, 2012, was a hot and humid day in North Texas, and the unstable atmosphere spawned 17 tornadoes in five hours in the Dallas-Fort...
Central Oklahoma Shaken by Magnitude 3.9 Earthquake
May 17 2018 // An earthquake has rattled parts of central Oklahoma that were shaken a day earlier by a series of earthquakes. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday about 8 miles...
How to Improve Terrorism Insurance to Meet Threat Landscape: JLT Re
May 14 2018 // Although there has been progress, the terrorism insurance market needs to do more to improve coverage at a time when “businesses and (re)insurers are confronted with an increasingly complex and multi-dimensional...
Wildfire Damage to Oklahoma Farms, Ranches Estimated at $26M
May 14 2018 // A report from Oklahoma State University says wildfires that scorched western and northwestern parts of the state and killed two in April caused an estimated $26 million in damage to livestock, pastures, fences and...
Puerto Rico Readies for Upcoming Hurricane Season with Lessons from Maria
May 14 2018 // Federal and local officials said that they are stockpiling radios, food, water and generators in Puerto Rico and demanding rigorous emergency training to prepare the U.S. territory for dealing with any catastrophic storm...
Alaskans Hear False Tsunami Warning on TV, Radio
May 14 2018 // Many Alaska residents were mistakenly warned on TV and on the radio Friday morning of a tsunami threat along the West Coast of the United States, from San Diego to Alaska’s Aleutian islands. The alert said at the end...
Weather Service: Damage in SW Wisconsin Likely Caused by Tornado
May 11 2018 // The National Weather Service says a preliminary investigation indicates a small tornado caused damage in southwestern Wisconsin. A barn and machine shed were destroyed near Fennimore Wednesday afternoon. Several other...
