Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hurricane Harvey Shutters Key Oil, Gas Operations in Texas
Aug 27 2017 // Key oil and gas facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast have temporarily shut down as Hurricane Harvey pounds the region with torrential rain and high winds, virtually assuring gasoline prices will rise in the storm’s...
How Hurricane Harvey Is Affecting Catastrophe Bonds
Aug 27 2017 // Bonds tied to weather risks tumbled the most in seven months as Hurricane Harvey advanced on Texas’s Gulf Coast. The Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index dropped 0.44 percent this week, the steepest decline since...
Saturday Update: Hurricane Harvey Expected to Weaken to Tropical Storm
Aug 26 2017 // Early this morning, Hurricane Harvey weakened to a category 1 hurricane as it moved farther inland over southeastern Texas. It continues to bring “life-threatening storm surge, rainfall, and wind hazards to portions...
A.M. Best Weighs Hurricane Harvey’s Financial Hit; Ranks Top 30 Texas Insurers
Aug 25 2017 // With Hurricane Harvey threatening the Texas coastline, A.M. Best said it has begun to assess the potential financial impact this event may have on the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry. The most recent track of Harvey...
RMS Comments on Tracking of Hurricane Harvey
Aug 25 2017 // Ben Brookes, RMS Vice President Capital Markets Solutions, posted the following blog update at 15:00 UTC , Friday August 25 Until yesterday evening Harvey looked like a rain-flooding threat, largely – likely to land-fall...
Official Blames Humans for Utah’s Wildfire Cost Doubling
Aug 25 2017 // Utah State Forester Brian Cottam said “stupid human tricks” have led to the states’ wildfire bill being double what it usually is. Cottam says the cost to Utah for this year’s wildfires is projected...
Hurricane Harvey Looks to Be First Big Test for Trump FEMA Director Long
Aug 25 2017 // Brock Long knew it was just a matter of time. “We’ve gone 11 years without a major hurricane land-falling in the U.S.—that’s a one-in-2,000 chance,” said Long, President Donald Trump’s...
Harvey Now a Hurricane, Sustained Winds Near 85 MPH
Aug 24 2017 // The National Hurricane Center says Harvey is now a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 85 mph and higher gusts. At 1 pm CDT, the hurricane was located around 335 miles southeast of Corpus Christi,...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Says It’s Ready for Harvey
Aug 24 2017 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association said it has initiated its catastrophe plan and that it is ready for Tropical Storm Harvey. Tropical Storm Harvey has crossed the boundaries of 80 degrees west longitude and 20...
25 Years Later: How Florida’s Insurance Industry Has Changed Since Hurricane Andrew
Aug 24 2017 // Aug. 24, 1992 was anything but a typical Monday for Robert Reynolds as he drove through debris-filled roads and devastation on the way to his family-run agency then located just north of Homestead, Fla. Hurricane Andrew...
Researchers Using Airplanes to Map Earthquake Faults in Oklahoma
Aug 23 2017 // Researchers are turning to the sky to help stop earthquakes from rumbling deep beneath the Oklahoma soil. The U.S. Geological Survey in coordination with the Oklahoma Geological Survey and other groups last week began...
Hurricane, Storm Surge Watches Issued for Texas Coast as Harvey Nears
Aug 23 2017 // The National Hurricane Center has issued a storm surge watch for Texas coast from Port Mansfield to High Island and a hurricane watch from north of Port Mansfield to San Luis Pass. The government of Mexican government also...
Severe Typhoon Hato Lashes Hong Kong; Flash Flood Warning Issued
Aug 23 2017 // Severe Typhoon Hato made landfall in China after it lashed Hong Kong with heavy winds and rain, forcing the city to issue the highest storm warning and its stock exchange to cancel trading for the day. The Hong Kong...
Wildfire in Yosemite National Park Grows, Evacuations Remain in California Town
Aug 22 2017 // Weather conditions have halped crews batttle a blaze in Yosemite National Park that has forced the evacuation of the tiny California community of Wawona. The blaze is now 3,820 acres and is now 17 percent contained. Singh...
Typhoon Hato Intensifies as It Heads to Hong Kong
Aug 22 2017 // Hong Kong was preparing to shutter businesses as Typhoon Hato drew closer to the city, with Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. scrapping flights and the local observatory warning it may raise the third-highest storm signal at...
Hurricane Season Ramping Up Along Southeast Coast
Aug 21 2017 // This is it, the days surfer Blue Spivey looks forward to all winter. The days he can go online and watch those big, long swells rolling across the Atlantic Ocean like they do all year out in California. You’ve got to...
Swiss Re: Miami Is More Vulnerable to Hurricanes Like Andrew
Aug 21 2017 // Almost 25 years have passed since a Category 5 hurricane struck south of Miami, and the city’s vulnerability to catastrophic storm damage has grown exponentially, according to a new insurance underwriters’...
5 Suspected Terrorists Shot Dead by Police After Barcelona’s Deadly Attack
Aug 18 2017 // Five suspected terrorists were killed by police and six civilians were injured in a confrontation in a town south of Barcelona, hours after 13 people died when a van rampaged down the city’s iconic Las Ramblas...
Insurance Professionals, Meteorologists to Kick Off ‘Hurricane Tour’
Aug 17 2017 // Texas insurance experts and meteorologists will be touring the Texas coast to inform the public about hurricane awareness and new legislation aimed at mitigating storm damage and related insurance costs. The Insurance...
Warm Atlantic Sets Stage for Busy Hurricane Season Peak
Aug 17 2017 // Not one, but three potential storms threaten to usher in the busiest phase of the Atlantic hurricane season later this month, courtesy of warm ocean temperatures. The season — which runs from June to November —...
