Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Central U.S. States Hit with Tornadoes, Strong Storms
Apr 27 2016 // A powerful spring storm brought strong winds and baseball-sized hail to several central states on April 26, with tornadoes spotted in Kansas and Oklahoma as the severe weather marched east, forecasters said. The storm...
Average to Below-Average Wildfire Season Expected for Colorado
Apr 27 2016 // Firefighters said Tuesday they expect another average or below-average wildfire season in Colorado in 2016, the third mild year in a row. “That’s always good news,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said after...
Retrofitting in Utah, Nevada Spurred by Earthquake Report
Apr 26 2016 // A new report raising the likelihood of a destructive earthquake striking Salt Lake City, Utah in the next half century has underscored the urgency to retrofit more than 30,000 older brick homes and other unreinforced...
2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Should See Normal Activity of 12 Names Storms: CSU
Apr 25 2016 // The coming Atlantic hurricane season should produce a near-average 12 named storms before it ends in November, according to Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the pioneering Colorado State University forecast. At least five of...
Colorado State Hurricane Forecaster Gray Passes Away
Apr 25 2016 // He changed the way the world looks at hurricanes, and in later years he challenged the science behind climate change, but most people will probably remember Bill Gray as the creator of the modern seasonal forecast for...
Economic Property Damages of Japan Earthquakes to Cost $2.5B-$3.5B: RMS
Apr 25 2016 // RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, estimated that economic property damage for both the April 15 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.0 earthquake and April 14 Mw6.4 earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto...
Cameras Trained on Mountains around Lake Tahoe Help Wildfire Battle
Apr 22 2016 // A growing network of cameras trained on the mountains around Lake Tahoe is changing the way crews fight Western wildfires by allowing early detection that triggers quicker, cheaper, more tactical suppression than...
Allstate Racks Up Big March Losses from Southwestern Hailstorms
Apr 21 2016 // The Allstate Corp. this week announced estimated catastrophe losses for the month of March of $638 million pre-tax, and an estimated $827 million pre-tax for first quarter 2016, in the wake of severe hailstorms in the...
Japanese Earthquakes Could Cost Insurers $2.9 Billion: AIR Worldwide
Apr 21 2016 // An earthquake that struck southern Japan on April 16 will probably cost insurers as much as 320 billion yen ($2.9 billion), according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide. The cost might be as low as 180 billion yen, the...
Oklahoma to Hold Hearing on Earthquake Insurance Rate Increases
Apr 19 2016 // Concerned about a competitiveness in the state’s earthquake insurance market, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak has ordered a public hearing to investigate rising rates. The May 24 hearing will include...
Ecuador Earthquake’s Death Toll Rises; AIR Worldwide Comments
Apr 18 2016 // World leaders from the Vatican to Washington offered support to Ecuador as casualties mounted following one of the strongest earthquakes to strike the South American country in decades. The number of dead has climbed to at...
Death Toll Rises from Japanese Earthquakes; Supply Chain Disruptions Examined
Apr 18 2016 // The death toll from earthquakes that struck southern Japan rose to 42 and the economic impact began to reverberate Monday as companies surveyed damage and the potential effects on production from supply-chain...
Oregon Considers Renewal of Lloyd’s Wildfire Insurance Policy
Apr 18 2016 // Oregon is considering another year of insurance coverage to help pay for catastrophic wildfire seasons. British insurance giant Lloyd’s is offering the state another year of coverage despite three consecutive years...
33 Tornadoes Hit Mississippi in First 3 Months of 2016
Apr 13 2016 // The first three months of 2016 were more active than usual in terms of severe weather in Mississippi. Ed Tarver, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, tells The Hattiesburg American the cause is...
Disaster Loans Available to Florida Businesses Affected by Tornadoes
Apr 13 2016 // The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting applications for low-interest disaster loans for Florida Panhandle businesses and residents affected by tornadoes and storms in February. The loans are available for...
Europe Terrorist Attacks in 2015 ‘Most Lethal’ in Nearly a Decade: Aon Risk Map
Apr 13 2016 // As terrorists increasingly target private citizens and public gatherings, last year marked the most lethal year for terrorist violence in Europe in nearly a decade, according to Aon Risk Solutions’ 2016 Terrorism and...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Assoc. Expert Panel to Meet April 14
Apr 11 2016 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association expert panel will hold a public meeting this week to inform the public about the progress of the panel’s work, to allow the public to observe the panel discussing its work,...
Weather Service Confirms Alabama Hit by 7 Tornadoes
Apr 11 2016 // The National Weather Service says storm surveys show seven tornadoes skipped across central Alabama late Wednesday and early Thursday. No one was seriously hurt and most of the twisters were weak, causing only scattered...
Oregon Considers Renewal of Lloyd’s Wildfire Insurance Policy
Apr 8 2016 // Oregon is considering another year of insurance coverage to help pay for catastrophic wildfire seasons. British insurance giant Lloyd’s is offering the state another year of coverage despite three consecutive years...
FACTBOX: Meteorologists Predict 2016 Hurricane Season Will Be More Active
Apr 8 2016 // Early forecasts from meteorologists suggest the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than normal, partly because of the expected end of the El Niño weather pattern in the next few months. Weather forecasters...
