Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
US House Oks Bill For Tribe’s Move Out Of Tsunami Zone
Feb 8 2012 // The U.S. House approved a bill Monday that will allow the Quileute tribe to move its school and other buildings out of a tsunami zone on the Washington coast to higher ground in Olympic National Park. The land transfer...
Despite Uptick in Frequency, January Sees No Major Natural Disaster
Feb 7 2012 // January was a good month in terms of global catastrophes. Yet while there was no single major loss event throughout the month, a series of relatively small aggregated losses impacted insurers and economies worldwide, a new...
Rescuers Dig to Reach People Trapped by Philippines 6.9 Earthquake
Feb 7 2012 // Rescuers dug with picks and shovels trying to reach dozens of people trapped under houses collapsed by a strong earthquake Monday that shook a central Philippine island and set off landslides. At least 13 people were...
8 States to Hold Earthquake Drills Today
Feb 7 2012 // Eight states are expected to take part in an earthquake drill today that will be conducted throughout the central United States on the 200th anniversary of the 1812 New Madrid earthquakes. The event is called the 2012...
Minor Earthquake Shakes North-Central Utah
Feb 6 2012 // Scientists say a minor earthquake has shaken the Utah Valley, but apparently causing no injuries or property damage. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations report the magnitude 3.7 quake occurred around 4:27 a.m....
Utah Offers New Earthquake Hazard Maps for Salt Lake County
Feb 3 2012 // Utah is selling new maps that show the shaking intensity of earthquakes for the west half of Salt Lake County. The set of 10 maps also spotlights the risks of landslides, rock falls, floods, radon gas and other hazards in...
Alaska Volcano Lava Dome Forms, Alert Level Raised
Feb 2 2012 // The warning level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised after a new lava dome began forming, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft. The Alaska Volcano Observatory...
Talk of ‘Tornado Tourism’ Stirs Anger in Joplin, Missouri
Feb 2 2012 // Eight months after a tornado laid waste to much of this city, Joplin, Mo., is wrestling with an emotional question: Should the community market its devastated neighborhoods to tourists? When the convention and visitors...
Haiti, Dominican Republic May Be Entering Big Earthquake Period
Feb 2 2012 // Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic could be in for a period of periodic powerful earthquakes, according to a recent scientific study. The study says Haiti’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake two years ago is likely...
Wasington: 15 Counties Are Primary Natural Disaster Areas
Feb 1 2012 // The U.S. Agriculture Department has designated 15 Washington counties as primary natural disaster areas due to extreme weather conditions in the first seven months of 2011. Sen. Maria Cantwell says farmers in those areas...
Measures Taken To Earthquake-Proof Alaskan Hospital
Jan 31 2012 // For decades, the people who oversaw Fairbanks Memorial Hospital shared a comforting thought about the building—even if a powerful earthquake struck, they were confident it would remain standing. But in the past few...
Weather Service Documents 10 Tornadoes in Alabama
Jan 27 2012 // The National Weather Service has now documented paths of destruction from at least 10 tornadoes in the outbreak of storms across central Alabama early Monday. Recently completed surveys show that tornadoes struck in Perry...
Severe Storms Drench Texas, at Least 3 Tornadoes Reported
Jan 26 2012 // Buckets of rain and powerful winds that likely spawned several tornadoes swept across Texas on Jan. 25, forcing drivers to abandon cars on flooded roads but not dropping enough water to make up for a historic dry...
Companies Partner on Smaller Earthquake Insurance Risks
Jan 26 2012 // Insurance Company of the West (ICW) and WKFC Underwriting Managers have announced a continued expansion of the relationship between the firms for commercial earthquake insurance. The partnership between ICW Group and WKFC...
Study: Major Earthquake Could Hit Tokyo Within Years
Jan 25 2012 // A new study is warning that the Tokyo region has a 70 percent chance of being hit directly by a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake within four years. The study by University of Tokyo seismologists bases the estimate on an...
Hailstorms, Heat and Wildfires Made 2011 a Rough Year in Texas
Jan 24 2012 // With weather forecasters issuing severe weather alerts for Texas as a slow moving cold front rolls across the state, many Texans may be reminded of the natural forces in 2011 that destroyed lives and property in all...
Alabama Rescuers Search Homes for Tornado Survivors
Jan 24 2012 // Searchers in the Birmingham area were going from house-to-house early Monday in an effort to rescue people trapped in their homes after storms moved across the Midwest and South, prompting tornado warnings in a handful of...
Alabama Tornado Recovery Report Delayed
Jan 24 2012 // The severe weather prompted Alabama Governor Robert Bentley to cancel a meeting this week where he was supposed to receive a study from a group of community and corporate leaders that studied Alabama’s response to...
Reno Wildfire That Destroyed 29 Homes Contained
Jan 23 2012 // The wildfire that destroyed 29 homes near Reno is contained. Thousands of evacuees are back home. And the family of the woman found dead says there’s no point in prosecuting the remorseful man who accidentally...
U.S. Nuclear Plants Need Better Safety Against Earthquakes, Floods: Panel
Jan 23 2012 // An expert task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called Japan’s nuclear disaster “unacceptable” and concluded that nuclear power plants in the U.S. need better protections for rare,...
