Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Flights Resume to Australian City of Darwin as Indonesian Volcano Calms
Jun 2 2014 // Flights resumed to and from Australia’s northernmost city of Darwin on Sunday after they were suspended for more than a day due to clouds of ash from an Indonesian volcano. Friday’s eruption of Sangeang Api...
NOAA: Near- Or Above-Normal Central Pacific Hurricane Season
Jun 2 2014 // Climate conditions point to a near-normal or above-normal hurricane season in the Central Pacific Basin this year with patterns possibly affected by an El Nino weather pattern, NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center...
Hurricane Forecasts’ Consensus Is for Near-or-Below Normal Season
Jun 2 2014 // In its 2014 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has forecast a near-normal or below-normal season. NOAA said the main driver of this year’s outlook is the anticipated development...
Will the NFIP Survive this Year’s Hurricane Season?
May 30 2014 // This Sunday, June 1, marks the start of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season. And though experts are predicting a relatively quiet one this year, our dutiful representatives in Congress have done their darnedest to ensure...
Weather Service: North Dakota Tornado Was EF-2
May 30 2014 // A rare North Dakota tornado that critically injured a 15-year-old girl and hurt eight other people at a workers’ camp in the heart of the state’s booming oil patch packed winds that peaked at 120 mph, the...
Understanding Wildfire Risk: A Closer Look at the Wildland-Urban Interface
May 30 2014 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. More than 21,500 fires have burned nearly 700,000 acres so far in 2014 (as of May 29, 2014), and these fires have been caused by both lightning strikes and more...
Florida Benefits As Yield-Thirsty Investors Line Up for Hurricane Bonds
May 30 2014 // In 2008, Florida’s government-run property insurer paid Warren Buffett $224 million to agree to buy its debt if a major storm struck. Six hurricane-free years later, the state is turning investors away. With...
New Texas Windstorm Rules Establish Method for Issuing Bonds
May 29 2014 // New rules posted by Texas insurance regulators on May 23 implement a process by which bonds may be issued on behalf of the state’s wind insurer of last resort for properties along the Texas coast. The Texas...
California Wildfire Zone Treated to Calmer Weather
May 29 2014 // Weather looks to be friendlier for firefighters today as they hope to fully contain a Central California wildfire that led to the destruction of two homes. Some 50 residents were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday...
New York Tornado Almost Hit Stored Fireworks
May 29 2014 // The tornado that touched down in rural eastern New York last week nearly caused a big bang. The owner of a fireworks business said the EF3-rated twister narrowly missed steel storage containers with thousands of pounds of...
New York City Officials Launch Hurricane Awareness Campaign
May 28 2014 // New York City officials are launching a hurricane awareness campaign to help residents prepare for the upcoming storm season. “Know Your Zone” is being billed as a “one-stop-shop” for hurricane...
North Dakota Tornado Tears Through Oil Patch, Injures 9, Destroys Trailers
May 28 2014 // Investigators headed to western North Dakota on May 27 to assess the strength of a tornado that injured nine people, including a 15-year-old girl who suffered critical injuries, and damaged or destroyed 15 trailers at a...
Technology Changing Perceptions of Tornadoes, Damages
May 28 2014 // Experts say that advances in technology, particularly social media, are changing how people watch for severe weather and how quickly images of the damage can be shared. John Robinson, the warning coordinator for the...
Cause of Arizona Wildfire Under Investigation
May 28 2014 // A team of investigators from the U.S. Forest Service’s law enforcement wing worked Tuesday to determine the cause of an Arizona wildfire between Flagstaff and Sedona, relying in part on dozens of tips from...
Arkansas Governor: $68.7M in Damage Claims Following Tornadoes
May 27 2014 // The office of Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe says $68.7 million in damage claims have been filed for individual and commercial entities in Faulkner, Pulaski, Randolph and White Counties following the April 27 tornadoes. The...
Alaska Wildfire Grows After Evacuations
May 27 2014 // Rain forecast this week in Alaska may help crews gain control over a massive wildfire that forced dozens of people to flee to shelters and move some of their animals to safety at rodeo grounds. The Funny River Fire in the...
Tsunami Debris Skiff Found On Washington Coast
May 23 2014 // More than three years after the tsunami hit Japan, evidence of the disaster continues to haunt the West Coast where residents know they also are vulnerable. A skiff that was once used by someone near Sendai washed ashore...
Rural Eastern Idaho Visited by Small Tornado
May 23 2014 // Authorities say a small tornado in a rural area of eastern Idaho caused no damage or injuries. The National Weather Service says the twister touched down at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday about 10 miles northwest of American Falls...
NOAA: Near- Or Above-Normal Central Pacific Hurricane Season
May 22 2014 // Climate conditions point to a near-normal or above-normal hurricane season in the Central Pacific Basin this year with patterns possibly affected by an El Niño weather pattern, NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane...
Dramatic Increase in Oklahoma Wildfires Causing Concern
May 22 2014 // Data from the Oklahoma Forestry Services shows that wildfires in Oklahoma so far this month have burned more than sixty times the average recent acreage. The Oklahoman reports that since May 2005, the state has averaged...
