Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FORTIFIED Home-High Wind, Hail Programs Launched at National Tornado Summit
Mar 3 2016 // The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) launched its new FORTIFIED Home–High Wind and Hail programs at the National Tornado Summit in Oklahoma. The programs are designed to help homeowners build...
Post Tornado, St. John Parish Trying for Normalcy
Mar 3 2016 // A sense of normalcy is returning to St. John the Baptist Parish after a tornado struck the west side of LaPlace last week and damaged more than 500 buildings but remarkably left no one seriously injured. The area hit last...
Alabama to Host Scientific Research Study of Southern Tornadoes
Mar 3 2016 // Weather researchers say they expect about 40 scientists from around the nation to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South. Like...
2015 a Record-Setting Year for Tornadoes in Texas
Mar 1 2016 // Texas recorded 244 tornadoes last year making it the highest number of twisters to ever touch down in the Lone Star State since the record keeping began in 1950. The tornadoes claimed 17 lives. The violent weather was...
Pipeline Companies Ordered to Pay $6.5 M in Damages from Oklahoma Wildfire
Feb 29 2016 // Two pipelines companies have been ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in damages to more than 70 plaintiffs whose property was destroyed in a 2012 wildfire in Oklahoma. Court documents say a Payne County jury ordered IPS...
13 Tornadoes Recorded in Louisiana on Feb. 23
Feb 26 2016 // The National Weather Service updated to 13 the number of tornadoes that hit Louisiana on Feb. 23, including four EF-2 tornadoes that were responsible for the extreme damage in Convent and LaPlace, along with an EF-2 in...
At Least 7 Tornadoes Hit Mississippi as Severe Storms Batter Region
Feb 26 2016 // A major storm system hit several Southeast states this week, bringing high winds and tornadoes to multiple regions and killing at least one person in Mississippi. Injuries and damage were also reported in Florida from an...
5th Annual National Tornado Summit Turning into an International Event
Feb 25 2016 // With registered attendees from as far away as Nepal and as nearby as Canada, the 2016 National Tornado Summit to be held next week in Oklahoma City has become an international event. The Oklahoma Department of Insurance,...
Texas Tornadoes Trigger Closer Look at Building Construction, Codes
Feb 24 2016 // Before the walls shook, before the two-by-fours twisted and the roof began tearing off, Amanda Bose saw news about the tornado on television. “Everybody in the bathroom — right now!” the 36-year-old mother...
Oklahoma Wildfire That Burned Homes, Outbuildings Almost Contained
Feb 23 2016 // Oklahoma Forestry Services says firefighters have almost contained a large wildfire east of Okmulgee. Officials say the Pharoah-Nuyaka fire has burned about 34 square miles and is about 60 percent contained. But residents...
Oklahoma Ponders ‘California Model’ for Earthquake Insurance
Feb 22 2016 // Oklahoma lawmakers are in the early stages of considering legislation to create a state-level “earthquake reinsurance program” that its author claims will be modeled on the California Earthquake Authority. S.B....
Officials: 2 Earthquakes Caused more than $100K in Damage in Wichita
Feb 22 2016 // Wichita, Kan., officials say the city suffered more than $100,000 in damage from two earthquakes in early January. The city will pay for the repairs out of its operating budget because the city’s earthquake insurance...
Earthquake Response Legislation Passes Oklahoma House Panel
Feb 19 2016 // Legislation that reaffirms the Oklahoma Corporation’s Commission’s authority to respond to emergencies involving oil and natural gas production in the state, including drilling-related earthquakes, has been...
Tornadoes Batter Multiple Southeast States
Feb 18 2016 // Weather service experts are assessing damage from storms that caused problems in several Southeast states. At least six south Alabama counties suffered damage from storms on Monday. The Johnsonville Volunteer Fire...
Sierra Club Lawsuit Claims Fracking Contributing to Oklahoma Earthquakes
Feb 16 2016 // Sierra Club weighed into the controversy over fracking and increased earthquake risk with a lawsuit accusing a Chesapeake Energy Corp. unit, Devon Energy Production Co. and New Dominion LLC of triggering tremors in...
M4.1 Earthquake Hits Hawaii’s Big Island
Feb 16 2016 // A magnitude-4.1 earthquake jolted the southern flank of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. The U.S. Geological Survey the quake last week was centered about 26 miles south of Hilo on the Big Island. It hit at 9:23 a.m. There...
Buildings, Tractors Burn in Louisiana Wildfires
Feb 12 2016 // Louisiana state forestry officials reported another wildfire in Natchitoches Parish, along Louisiana Highway 117 southwest of Natchitoches. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene after a building fire spread into a...
U.S. Victims of Mexican Drug Gangs Sue HSBC Bank Under Anti-Terrorism Act
Feb 10 2016 // Families of U.S. citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico sued HSBC Holdings Plc, claiming the bank can be held responsible for the deaths because it let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their...
Earthquakes May Be the ‘800-Pound Gorilla’ in Oklahoma Legislature
Feb 8 2016 // The power and frequency of earthquakes in Oklahoma have been increasing, but the Legislature has done little to try to curb the temblors that scientists have linked to the underground disposal of oil and gas drilling...
Death Toll Rises from Taiwan Earthquake; Chip-Making Plants to Re-Open Quickly
Feb 8 2016 // The number of confirmed deaths in a weekend earthquake in Taiwan edged up to 37, with the final toll estimated to be much higher as more than a hundred people were still reported missing. Efforts to dig through collapsed...
