Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Another Mag 4.0 Earthquake Reported in Northwest Oklahoma
Aug 15 2016 // The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 4.0 magnitude earthquake in northwestern Oklahoma. The USGS says the quake was recorded at 12:27 a.m. 12 miles northeast of Helena, about 85 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. There have...
Wildfire Destroys More than 100 Homes in Northern California
Aug 15 2016 // A wildfire stuck a Northern California town still recovering from a massive fire nearly a year ago, destroying more than 100 homes and forcing thousands to flee, authorities said Monday. Gusts kicked up flames on Sunday...
Court Absolves Twitter of Liability for Terrorists’ Tweets
Aug 15 2016 // Twitter Inc. won a court ruling that it can’t be held responsible for the so-called Islamic State’s use of the social network to spread propaganda that may have led to the death of an American in Amman,...
Weather Services Classifies Storm Near Wyoming Town as Tornado
Aug 12 2016 // The National Weather Service has classified the windstorm that damaged 16 homes near Gillette last weekend as a tornado. The Gillette News Record reported that the weather service says the EF-1 tornado with wind speeds...
4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Central Oklahoma
Aug 11 2016 // The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake that rattled central Oklahoma on Aug. 10 had a preliminary magnitude of 4.0. It struck shortly after 6 a.m. with an epicenter in Luther, about 23 miles northeast of Oklahoma...
Atlantic Could See 8 More Hurricanes Before Season Ends
Aug 11 2016 // The Atlantic basin will see the most named storms since the 2012 season, the year Sandy crippled the U.S. East Coast, with five to eight of those strengthening into hurricanes by Nov. 30, the National Oceanic and...
Group Seeks to Make New Orleans House into Hurricane Katrina Memorial
Aug 10 2016 // A house that was flooded by Hurricane Katrina could become a memorial to the catastrophic storm that nearly wiped New Orleans off the map 11 years ago. The city planning commission will consider a request by the group...
Oregon University Confidently Building $50M Center in Tsunami Zone
Aug 8 2016 // Oregon State University is moving ahead with plans to build a $50 million expansion to house its marine science initiative in a tsunami inundation zone in Newport despite warnings from a state geologist that the site could...
Utah Law Enables Authorities to Crash Drones at Wildfires
Aug 8 2016 // Utah’s governor has signed into law a measure that makes the state the first to let authorities jam drone signals and crash the devices specifically for flying too close to wildfires. Republican Gov. Gary...
Planning for the Worst: Terrorism and Workplace Violence
Aug 8 2016 // Several recent manmade events, including the attack at Pulse nightclub in Florida and the Belgium airport terrorist bombing, highlight the vulnerability of the workplace. Workplace violence costs employers more than $120...
Northeast Drought, Wildfire Risk Could Last Through October
Aug 8 2016 // The drought that has taken hold in the Northeast, from Maine to Pennsylvania, is being driven by a second year of below-average rainfall. Though not as dire as the West Coast drought of five-years running, the dry, hot...
Update: Earl Weakens from Hurricane to Tropical Storm as It Crosses Belize
Aug 4 2016 // Tropical Storm Earl* will continue to weaken as it crosses Belize after coming ashore early Thursday with drenching rains and hurricane-strength winds, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Earl was 90 miles (145...
Official: Tornado Activity in Kansas in July Was Unusually High
Aug 3 2016 // The high number of tornadoes seen in Kansas in July was unusual, according to a state official. Eight tornadoes touched down in the state in July, The Wichita Eagle reported. Three twisters occurred in Greenwood County on...
Update: Tropical Storm Earl Set to Become a Hurricane as It Heads to Belize
Aug 3 2016 // Tropical Storm Earl, forecast to grow into a hurricane, may just graze Mexico’s oil-rich Bay of Campeche as it heads west toward the Honduras Bay Islands before making landfall in Belize within the next 24...
Wildfires Threaten Homes in Central California
Aug 2 2016 // Crews contended with blistering temperatures Monday as they tried to beat back a wildfire that burned rural homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in California’s Central Valley, while cooler weather gave...
Tourism Decline in California’s Scenic Big Sur Sparked by Wildfire
Aug 1 2016 // Lodge managers and cafe owners along California’s dramatic Big Sur coast were looking at a summer of jittery guests and cancelled bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling a wildfire...
Beazley Expands Event Cancellation Coverage for Political Violence, Terrorism Incidents
Jul 28 2016 // Beazley, a provider of event cancellation insurance, has expanded its terrorism and political violence event cancellation insurance for the sports, entertainment and leisure industries in the U.S. to include riots, civil...
FBI Warns of More Terrorist Attacks in U.S. as ISIS Is Defeated in Syria
Jul 28 2016 // Hundreds of terrorists will fan out to infiltrate western Europe and the U.S. to carry out attacks on a wider scale as Islamic State is defeated in Syria, FBI Director James Comey warned. “At some point there’s...
California Wildfire Shuts Down Picturesque Big Sur
Jul 27 2016 // State parks along the California’s famed Big Sur coastline were closed Tuesday as one of the state’s two major wildfires threatened the scenic region at the height of the summer tourism season. The Big Sur fire...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Submit Depopulation Documentation by August 25
Jul 26 2016 // Texas Windstorm Insurance Association member companies that want to participate in the Assumption Reinsurance Depopulation Program may now submit required documentation to both TWIA and the Texas Department of Insurance...
