Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Many in Tornado Alley Still Rely on Warning Sirens
Jun 4 2012 // Warnings sent directly to cell phones and broadcast over the airwaves can provide a detailed heads-up before dangerous storms. But for many parts of Tornado Alley, storm sirens remain so ubiquitous that one official says...
Officials: New Orleans Ready for Hurricanes
Jun 4 2012 // The Army Corps of Engineers — responsible for the massive rebuilding of hurricane protection after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — and leaders from around the metropolitan area say they’re working...
Atlantic Hurricane Season Begins
Jun 4 2012 // It’s that time of the year again. The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season officially got underway on June 1. So far, forecasters are saying this will be a less-active-than-usual North Atlantic hurricane season. And...
R.I. Enacts New Hurricane Insurance Law
Jun 4 2012 // Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee on May 22 signed into law legislation designed to provide additional protection to homeowners when their properties suffer damages from hurricanes. The legislation (House bill 2012-H7484A...
Mass. Tornadoes in 2011 Caused $200M in Insured Damages
Jun 4 2012 // Massachusetts officials said that insurers so far paid out $200 million in claims related to devastating tornadoes in western and central Massachusetts that occurred on June 1, 2011. The Massachusetts Insurance Division...
Reinsurers Can Meet Hurricane Coverage Demand: Fitch
Jun 4 2012 // Sufficient capacity remains available in the insurance and reinsurance markets to meet the demand for coverage prior to the approaching U.S. hurricane season, according to Fitch Ratings. Early forecasts for the 2012 U.S....
Baseball Goes to Bat for Tornado Victims
Jun 4 2012 // Major League Baseball and a charitable foundation run by players are working with Habitat for Humanity to build nine homes for the tornado-ravaged communities of Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., with more than half of...
Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits
Jun 4 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel recently concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover all...
Mass. Church Rebounds After 2011 Tornado; Insurance Covers $2M Repair
Jun 1 2012 // A year after a tornado downed its steeple, The First Church of Monson Congregational in Monson, Mass., is rebounding.Photo credit: The First Church of Monson CongregationalThe town’s oldest church became a disaster...
Can Texas Escape Another Hurricane Season?
Jun 1 2012 // Today marks the start of another hurricane season and many Texans are wondering if we can go one more year without a destructive storm. The last hurricane to strike Texas proved to be the costliest. Hurricane Ike struck...
Fake Hurricane Helps Mississippi Responders Prepare for Real One
Jun 1 2012 // Hurricane Natasha was a fake storm, but Mississippi’s emergency responders treated it like it was the real thing. Natasha was a simulated Category 3 hurricane used Wednesday as part of a training exercise for the...
Michigan Upper Peninsula Wildfire Destroys 115 Structures
May 31 2012 // State officials say 115 structures, including homes and a motel, have been destroyed by a wildfire in the Upper Peninsula. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the wildfire in Luce County’s Duck Lake...
New Earthquake Faults Uncovered West Of Lake Tahoe
May 31 2012 // Scientists studying earthquake faults in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe say new, high-resolution imaging technology has helped uncover more substantial seismic hazards than previously thought to exist there. The steep,...
NYC Publishes New Edition of ‘Ready New York’ Hurricane Guide
May 31 2012 // New York City’s Office of Emergency Management has published a new edition of its hurricane guide.The new hurricane guide is available for free download from nyc.org.Titled “Ready New York: Hurricanes and New...
Md. Officials Ask Homeowners: ‘Are You Ready for Hurricane Season?’
May 30 2012 // As the Atlantic hurricane season approaches, Maryland’s insurance regulators are asking homeowners, “Do you know what your homeowners insurance policy covers if your property is damaged?” The Atlantic...
Crews Work to Protect Structures in Michigan Wildfire
May 30 2012 // Crews worked on May 29 to ensure that no more structures were damaged by a wildfire burning across more than 30 square miles of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as high winds in the forecast threatened to test firefighting...
Wildfire Now New Mexico’s Largest Recorded
May 30 2012 // A wildfire in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest has consumed 170,252 acres, making it the largest wildfire on record in New Mexico, a fire incident spokesman told the news website msnbc.com. “It’s...
Florida City Doubles in Size Since Hurricane Andrew
May 30 2012 // The havoc wreaked by Hurricane Andrew in Homestead, Florida two decades ago still serves as a warning about the devastation even a slow tropical storm season can bring. Homestead was ground zero when Andrew plowed ashore...
Another Earthquake Strikes Northern Italy
May 29 2012 // On Tuesday, May 29 a Mw5.8 (moment magnitude) earthquake struck the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, a little more than a week after a Mw6.0 earthquake struck the region on Sunday, May 20. According to the U.S....
Researchers to Fill Gaps in Georgia Hurricane History
May 29 2012 // Before Georgia began its current streak of 114 years without a major hurricane, the state’s coastline was a fairly frequent target in the 1800s. At least six big storms, some of them responsible for violent death...
