Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Japan Earthquake Casts Cloud Over Push to Restart Nuclear Plants
Jan 5 2024 // The powerful earthquake that hit Japan’s western coast on New Year’s Day has underscored the country’s exposure to natural disasters, casting fresh doubt over a push to bring its nuclear capacity back...
Small Earthquake Shakes Maryland Suburbs
Jan 4 2024 // A small earthquake shook the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., early Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.3 happened around 12:51 a.m. It was centered nearly 2...
Maui Needs Tourists. Can They Visit Without Compounding Wildfire Trauma?
Jan 3 2024 // The restaurant where Katie Austin was a server burned in the wildfire that devastated Hawaii`s historic town of Lahaina this summer. Two months later, as travelers began to trickle back to nearby beach resorts, she went to...
Turkey Earthquake Tops 2023 Insurance Industry Losses Outside US: CRESTA
Jan 2 2024 // The largest non-US natural catastrophe in 2023 was the Kahramanmaras Earthquake Sequence in Turkey on Feb. 6, which generated an industry loss of US$5.8 billion, the largest ever cat loss for the Turkish insurance market,...
2024 Oregon Consumer Laws Include Protections for Homeowners Dealing with Wildfire
Dec 29 2023 // Consumer protections for homeowners dealing with wildfire-related issues, property contents coverage, personal data protection and prescription drugs are set to go into effect in 2024. The Oregon Division of Financial...
Hawaii Fire Shows Wildfires Pose Particular Threat to Elderly and Other Vulnerable Individuals
Dec 28 2023 // Sharlene Rabang and her calico cat fled the wildfire that destroyed her town on Maui and arrived at a family home on another Hawaii island after a 24-hour odyssey that included sleeping in a car. Dazed, coughing and weak,...
7th Person in Tennessee Dies from Tornado
Dec 22 2023 // NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A seventh person in Tennessee has died from injuries she suffered during a string of powerful storms earlier this month that whipped up destructive tornadoes, according to police. Penny...
China Earthquake Update: 137 People Killed, 12 Still Missing, 207,000 Homes Wrecked
Dec 21 2023 // A dozen people were still missing on Thursday after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Gansu province late Monday, and netizens questioned the speed at which rescue operations had ended. Chinese media reported...
Allianz Sponsors Catastrophe Bond for European Windstorm Risks
Dec 20 2023 // Allianz has sponsored a new catastrophe bond which will provide the group with multi-year risk transfer capacity of €250 million to protect itself against European windstorms. Allianz entered into a three-year...
Hawaii Governor’s First Budget After Maui Wildfire Includes Funds for Recovery and Fire Prevention
Dec 20 2023 // Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said he was requesting $425 million from lawmakers during the next fiscal year to help Maui recover from August’s wildfires, and millions more to reduce the risk of wildfires statewide. The...
Death Toll Climbs in China’s Worst Earthquake in Nearly a Decade
Dec 20 2023 // The death toll from China’s worst earthquake since 2014 rose to more than 130 as the government sent a top official to oversee recovery efforts. Some 113 people were killed in mostly rural areas of Gansu province and...
Expert: ‘Active Year Worldwide’ for Rapid Hurricane Intensification
Dec 19 2023 // While only three hurricanes made landfall in the United States this year, rapidly intensifying hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans charted near the top of record lists in 2023. Each of the year’s major...
Child Survives After Tennessee Tornado Threw Him into a Tree
Dec 19 2023 // CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A 4-month-old boy has survived after a tornado in Tennessee sucked him up from his family`s mobile home, which was demolished in the storm. Sydney Moore told WSMV-TV that when the tornado...
Initial Insured Losses for Windstorm Ciarán (aka Emir) Estimated at €1.9B: PERILS
Dec 18 2023 // Initial industry losses for extratropical windstorm Ciarán, also known as Emir, are estimated at €1.9 billion (US$2.1 billion), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide...
Hurricane Season May be Over, but High Winds Still Lashing South Florida
Dec 18 2023 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — It’s beginning to look at lot like … hurricane season — at least across much of South Florida, where it’s been windy and rainy for two days and the forecast...
New Research Shows Renters Are Hit the Hardest When a Hurricane Strikes
Dec 15 2023 // Newswise — With a severe shortage of affordable housing in the United States, renters living along the East and Gulf coasts are uniquely vulnerable to hurricane disasters. Two new studies based on data from 2009 to 2018...
Warmer Winters Could Mean More Tornadoes in December, Like Those in NC, TN
Dec 14 2023 // Residents of Garner, North Carolina, have spent the week cleaning up after an F1 tornado damaged more than 20 homes and left four of them uninhabitable. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that warmer winters already...
Markets/Coverages: MGA Optio and Insurer Partner AmFirst to Offer Political Violence & Terrorism Cover
Dec 12 2023 // Optio Group, the London-based specialty managing general agent (MGA), announced it has entered into an agreement with a new insurer partner to provide underwriting capacity for political violence and terrorism (PVT)...
Typhoon That Hit China’s Ports Provides Wakeup Call for Climate Risk to Markets
Dec 12 2023 // As Typhoon Doksuri aimed toward mainland China, major southeast ports were forced to turn away dozens of vessels for days. The storm, supercharged by the warm July waters of the Pacific, delivered Beijing’s worst...
Report: Kentucky Fund Made $239,000 in Erroneous Tornado Relief Payments
Dec 7 2023 // FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A report released Tuesday by state officials on the disbursement of Kentucky`s tornado relief fund found that it sent out about $239, 000 in mistaken payments. The review of the fund by State...
