Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
In Rural Mississippi, Recovery Uneven a Year After Tornado
Dec 27 2013 // A year after a strong tornado hit Mississippi’s rural Pearl River County, residents are recovering unevenly. Sue Hubbard’s family has a new metal roof on their new house, thanks in part to insurance payments....
Texas Lawmaker Wants Probe into Windstorm Insurance Association Emails
Dec 23 2013 // A Texas lawmaker has called for an investigation into racist emails uncovered within the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, which acknowledged in court that bigotry could have influenced a claim filed by a...
Geological Society: Kansas Earthquake, Oil Production Might Be Related
Dec 23 2013 // The Kansas Geological Society is investigating whether a recent earthquake in southern Kansas might have been caused by oil production practices in the area. But KGS interim director Rex Buchanan said it might be difficult...
Wildfire in California’s Big Sur 79% Contained
Dec 20 2013 // Rain and higher humidity on Thursday helped firefighters battling a wildfire in California’s Big Sur region that has destroyed an estimated 22 homes. The fire in the Los Padres National Forest was 79 percent...
Florida Tornado Damage Estimated at $5 Million
Dec 17 2013 // Seven homes were destroyed and more than 150 damaged by the tornado that struck a central Florida neighborhood Saturday, city officials said. The National Weather Service said the tornado had winds as high as 110 miles per...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Disavows Racism Allegations
Dec 16 2013 // Texas’ insurer of last resort in coastal areas has denied allegations that a culture of racism has existed within the organization. Responding to claims by a Houston-based trial lawyer that employees of the Texas...
Illinois Gets $1M in Federal Grants After Tornadoes
Dec 13 2013 // Gov. Pat Quinn’s office says federal aid for Illinois tornado victims has topped $1 million. The governor’s office says that federal grants following the fatal Nov. 17 twisters have reached $1.06 million. The...
AIR Estimates Windstorm Xaver Insured Losses: $963 Million to $1.92 Billion
Dec 13 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured wind losses from Extratropical Cyclone Xaver will range between €700 million [$963 million] and €1.4 billion [$1.926 billion], with the majority of the...
2013 Had Lowest Hurricane Count since 1982: Willis Re
Dec 12 2013 // The 2013 Atlantic storm season has proved one of the quietest in decades with the lowest number of hurricanes since 1982 and none of them considered ‘major’, according to insurance broker Willis Re. An...
Magnitude-4.5 Earthquake Rattles Central Oklahoma
Dec 9 2013 // A magnitude-4.5 earthquake in central Oklahoma shook residents on Dec. 7, just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Sooner state, and was followed by two smaller temblors...
Hurricane Strength Storm Xaver Slams UK, Northern Europe: AIR Analysis
Dec 6 2013 // A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide notes that Winter Storm Xaver hit the north of Scotland last night, Thursday the 5th of December, with wind gusts of more than 140 mph (225 km/h), recorded in the...
Super Typhoon Haiyan Tops Impact Forecasting’s November Cat Review
Dec 6 2013 // The latest edition of Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting Global Catastrophe Recap report for November highlights the havoc caused by Super Typhoon Haiyan when it made landfall in the central Philippines as “one...
PERILS Initial Loss Estimate for Windstorm Christian is $1.358 Billion
Dec 6 2013 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has issued its initial loss estimate for windstorm Christian, which affected Western and Northern Europe from 27 to...
Court Shields Developers From Terrorism-Related Damages in 9/11 Case
Dec 5 2013 // A federal appeals court in New York has given developers and builders of high-rises and other buildings added protection from lawsuits over property losses linked to terrorism, in a case stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001...
Post-Hailstorm Roofing Permits in Kansas Town Return to Normal
Dec 4 2013 // A surge in demand for roofing permits that began in Hutchinson, Kan., after a July 23 hailstorm appears to be coming to an end. Nearly 2,000 new roofs, with a value of just under $24 million, have been installed since the...
Reinsurers to Lower Prices Following Weak Hurricane Season: Fitch
Dec 4 2013 // The quietest U.S. Atlantic hurricane season in decades will lead to a low double-digit fall in related catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the key 2014 renewals, according to experts at Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency...
Interest in Insurance Rises in Oklahoma Along with Earthquake Activity
Dec 3 2013 // It’s become a predictable routine at Matt Pryor’s insurance agency: An earthquake rumbles through Oklahoma, rattling dishes and nerves. Then the phones light up with calls and text messages from desperate...
Out of Joplin Tornado: Recommendations for Safety, Communication Standards
Dec 2 2013 // National standards should be set for building construction, storm shelters and emergency communications to reduce death and damage from tornadoes, a federal agency that studied the deadly 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo., has...
50-Plus Tornadoes Pummel Midwest in Late Season Outbreak
Dec 2 2013 // In a rare late season outbreak, more than 50 tornadoes blasted across Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. on Nov. 17. Preliminary estimates by the catastrophe modeling firm RMS put insured losses from the...
Illinois AG Investigating Tornado Relief Scam
Dec 2 2013 // Illinois’ Attorney General has opened an investigation into a potential fundraising scam tied to tornado relief efforts in Washington, Ill., and other downstate Illinois communities. Lisa Madigan said the Charitable...
