Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call
Jul 24 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none...
50 Homes Destroyed in California Wildfire
Jul 21 2017 // The town of Mariposa, with its century-old saloons and covered sidewalks, normally bustles with summer visitors on their way to Yosemite National Park but the Gold Rush-era hamlet was mostly empty as ash rained down and...
British Columbia Wildfires Continue to Rage, Torching 1,235-Plus Square Miles
Jul 21 2017 // British Columbia is extending a state of emergency for two more weeks as wildfires sweeping across the province’s interior show no sign of slowing. Premier John Horgan said Wednesday that his government’s first...
Verisk: Texas 2nd in Number of Households at Risk for Wildfire
Jul 20 2017 // The 2017 Verisk Wildfire Risk Analysis shows that Texas is ranked second behind California for the number of households at high or extreme risk from wildfire. The analysis determined the number and percentage of households...
Yosemite Park Wildfire Burns Dozens of Structures And Heads Toward California Towns
Jul 20 2017 // A wildfire in foothills west of Yosemite National Park destroyed dozens of structures and forced thousands to flee towns but fire crews have been able to stop it from reaching a threatened community on the foothills of the...
North Carolina Gov Signs $100M Hurricane Aid, Zip Line Insurance Bills
Jul 20 2017 // Gov. Roy Cooper has signed legislation directing how $100 million in additional Hurricane Matthew relief funds must be spent and requiring zip line and aerial ropes course owners to get minimum levels of liability...
California Wildfire Threatens 1,500 Homes
Jul 19 2017 // A California blaze in the rugged mountains outside of Yosemite National Park has destroyed eight structures and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes. As of Tuesday evening, the fire had scorched 39...
British Columbia Wildfires Expected to Worsen; Nearly 40,000 People Evacuated
Jul 19 2017 // Fast-moving wildfires in British Columbia have forced nearly 40,000 people to leave their homes and residents are flooding into crowded evacuation centers amid a provincial state of emergency. Federal Public Safety...
California’s Drought Is Over, but a New Report Shows Wildfire Risk is High for Millions
Jul 18 2017 // California’s drought-ridden feet aren’t out of the proverbial fire yet. This years’ powerful winter storms ended perpetual discourse about the state’s multiyear drought, but there are still 4.5...
2 New California Wildfires Prompt Evacuation Orders
Jul 18 2017 // A wildfire burning in central California tripled in size Monday, forcing more people from their homes as firefighters battle the day-old blaze. The fire is burning near Lake McClure, a reservoir about 50 miles east of...
Natural Disaster Claims Drop 40% to $19.5B in 1st Half of 2017: Munich Re
Jul 18 2017 // Insurers paid out around $19.5 billion for natural disaster claims in the first half of 2017, almost 40 percent less than the year-earlier payout of $32 billion, reinsurer Munich Re said on Tuesday. In addition, some $21.5...
British Columbia’s Wildfires Threaten Lumber Supplies, Force Mine Closures
Jul 18 2017 // Wildfires sweeping across British Columbia, the world’s biggest exporter of softwood lumber, sent timber prices surging and forced the closure of two copper mines in the western Canadian province. More than 375 fires...
Earthquakes Rumble Central Oklahoma
Jul 17 2017 // The U.S. Geological Survey says several earthquakes struck central Oklahoma in the morning on July 14, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2. State and local emergency management officials said there have been...
Costs for Fighting Utah Wildfire Reached Nearly $34M
Jul 17 2017 // The cost of fighting a southern Utah wildfire that forced hundreds of people to evacuate has reached nearly $34 million. Fire spokeswoman Julie Thomas said the tab for fighting the blaze near the Utah ski town of Brian...
Small Tornado Confirmed in Southeastern Arizona
Jul 17 2017 // The National Weather Service confirmed a small tornado has touched down in southeastern Arizona. Meteorologists confirmed the sighting through images on social media after issuing a tornado warning for the Picacho Peak and...
Wyoming Wildfire Caused by Lightning, Investigators Say
Jul 13 2017 // Investigators have determined that lightning ignited a wildfire that has burned about 3 square miles of timber in southeast Wyoming. The fire burning in the Keystone area of Medicine Bow National Forest began July 3. After...
As California Wildfire Wanes, Evacuees Return and Damage is Measured
Jul 13 2017 // Relief was arriving after a rough stretch of wildfires all around the U.S. West, with firefighters slowly surrounding once-fierce blazes and evacuees starting to stream back home. Authorities surveying the damage from a...
Windstorm Egon’s Insurance Loss Estimate Rises to US$314.7M: PERILS
Jul 13 2017 // The estimated property insurance losses for Windstorm Egon, which hit France and Germany on Jan. 12-13, 2017, have been revised upwards to €275 million ($314.7 million) by PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company...
California Wildfires Feeding on Grass Fed by Winter Rain
Jul 12 2017 // Wildfires driving people from their homes in California and throughout the West have had help from an unlikely source: the rain. Major winter downpours that pulled the state out of years of drought also brought a layer of...
RMS Launches New Models for Tropical Cyclone & Earthquake in Asia Pacific
Jul 12 2017 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling and analytics firm, has introduced typhoon models for wind and flood for South Korea and Taiwan, plus four new earthquake models for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and...
