Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arsonists Blamed for 320 Florida Wildfires in 2017
May 9 2017 // Florida officials say arsonists have ignited about 320 wildfires so far this year, burning more than 20,000 acres across the state. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said severe drought conditions have increased the...
2 Tornadoes Confirmed in Atlanta Area
May 9 2017 // Weather officials have confirmed that two Atlanta-area sites were touched by tornadoes on Thursday. The National Weather Service said Friday in a news release that a tornado with winds of 75-85 mph (121-137 kph) touched...
California Earthquake Authority Creates Online Home Vulnerability Evaluator
May 8 2017 // The California Earthquake Authority has created an online tool to help home inspection specialists evaluate a house’s vulnerability to earthquake damage. The online tool, QuakeGrade, uses information entered by an...
Dozens Forced to Evacuate in Southern Georgia as Wildfire Spreads
May 8 2017 // Several dozen people in Georgia’s southernmost county have been evacuated after a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp has begun to burn just a few miles from the St. George community. Saturday’s evacuation...
Palomar Specialty, AAA Club to Offer Earthquake Insurance in Oklahoma
May 8 2017 // Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. has partnered with AAA Club Alliance to offer residential earthquake insurance, starting in Oklahoma. According to AAA Oklahoma Vice President of Insurance Russ Iden more than half of the...
Oklahoma Earthquake Risk: What a Difference Year Makes
May 8 2017 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. For nearly the past decade, the growing number of earthquakes in Oklahoma has gained widespread attention. As described in the CoreLogic® Insights Blog Earthquake...
Texas House Passes ‘Hailstorm’ Bill Aimed at Weather Damage Lawsuits
May 5 2017 // Note: this story was originally published in the Texas Tribune. The Texas House gave initial passage on May 4 to a bill that would make it harder for property owners to sue insurers over weather-related damage to...
Alaska’s 24/7 Earthquake Monitors on Budget Chopping Block
May 5 2017 // Alaska might lose its 24/7 earthquake monitors due to budget cuts. The Juneau Empire reported that as of March 1, more than 25 percent of the Alaska Regional Seismic Network has been offline. Since 2013, staff has...
Study Warns of Rising Risk to Mobile Homes from Tornadoes
May 5 2017 // Tornadoes and mobile homes don’t mix to begin with, but throw in the volatility of climate change and the potential for massive property damage and deaths is even higher in coming decades, indicates a new study by...
Correction: Weekend Tornado Count in Mississippi Rises to 24
May 4 2017 // The National Weather Service says it has confirmed that at least 24 tornadoes hit Mississippi during storms on Sunday. Surveyors are expected to continue examining damage Wednesday. So far, meteorologists have confirmed...
California’s Sherpa Wildfire Was Accidental, Authorities Say
May 4 2017 // Authorities say a fire that blazed through miles of California coast last summer was sparked by a man trying to douse a burning log. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department said this week that the Sherpa Fire last June...
Oklahoma Tornado Shelter Company Owner Faces Felony Embezzlement Charges
May 2 2017 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has filed seven felony counts of embezzlement against William Stephens, who owns Muskogee-based Tornado King Shelters. After the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit...
Strong Storms Hit Alabama On Anniversary of Deadly 2011 Tornado Outbreak
May 1 2017 // The National Weather Service has sent out teams to look for damage and confirm where tornadoes might have touched down in the state. Al.com reports that the weather service was sending survey teams to Montgomery, Lee, Pike...
Meteorologists Offer Conflicting Predictions on 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 1 2017 // Most meteorologists forecast the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than a year ago, with the number of named storms and hurricanes near average. A few meteorologists, however, expect this season to be more...
Feds to Use Fires to Lower Washington Wildfire Risks
May 1 2017 // To reduce the risks of wildfires, federal officials this spring are planning to conduct controlled burns on more than 9,000 acres of land in Washington state forests. The Seattle Times reported the fires planned in the...
Regulators in California Hit PG&E with $8.3M Fine for Deadly Wildfire
Apr 27 2017 // Regulators say they have fined Pacific Gas and Electric Co. $8.3 million for failing to maintain a power line that sparked a massive blaze in Northern California that destroyed 549 homes and killed two people. The...
Eastern Newfoundland Windstorm Costs Insurers US$32.5M
Apr 27 2017 // A windstorm that hit eastern Newfoundland on March 11, 2017 has resulted in almost C$45 million (US$32.5 million) in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), quoting statistics from Catastrophe...
2 Tornadoes Confirmed in Mississippi From Weekend Weather
Apr 27 2017 // The National Weather Service confirms two tornadoes hit Mississippi’s northeast corner on Saturday. A survey shows that a twister with top winds of 90 mph (145 kph) struck Prentiss County around 2:35 p.m. The...
Official Says Georgia Wildfire Could Go On For 6 Months
Apr 26 2017 // A wildfire in Georgia that has scorched more than 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) of public lands near the Georgia-Florida state line could burn for the next six months unless heavy rains snuff out the flames...
Feds Will Use Fires to Lower Washington Wildfire Risks
Apr 24 2017 // To reduce the risks of wildfires, federal officials this spring are planning to conduct controlled burns on more than 9,000 acres of land in Washington state forests. The Seattle Times reported the fires planned in the...
