Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kentucky Weathering AIG and Ike Hurricanes
Nov 2 2008 // Sharon P. Clark, a 17-year veteran of Kentucky state government, was appointed commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Insurance (DOI) in June. Clark’s experience includes five years as director of the Consumer...
Willis Report: California May See Less Shaking in Earthquake
Nov 2 2008 // Ground view of collapsed building and burned area as a result of an earthquake at Beach and Divisadero, Marina District. Photo courtesy of C.E. Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey. California buildings are less likely to shake,...
California Recovers Nearly $13 Million Following 2007 Wildfires
Nov 2 2008 // Nearly one year after the October 2007 wildfires, the California Department of Insurance has recovered more than $12.7 million from insurance companies by standing up for consumers who had been shortchanged. The $12.7...
Study: California Earthquake Could Cause $200 Billion in Losses
Oct 31 2008 // If a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occured on California’s Hayward Fault today, it would result in economic losses between $210 billion and $235 billion, with only up to $30 billion likely to be insured, according to a...
Northwest Could Learn From 2004 Indonesian Tsunami
Oct 31 2008 // The tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 2004 was the biggest in the Indian Ocean in some 600 years, and it has lessons for the Pacific Northwest, geologists said. Geologists say the long gap between tsunamis in the...
3 Months After Tornado, Some in New Hampshire Still Fighting Red Tape
Oct 30 2008 // Three months after a tornado ripped a 50-mile swath through central New Hampshire, some residents still are caught in a swirl of red tape as they fight to rebuild their damaged or destroyed homes and get on with their...
Texas Lawmakers Critical of Federal Response to Hurricane
Oct 28 2008 // Lawmakers in Texas praised the state’s response to Hurricane Ike but some blasted the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at a recent meeting of the state Senate’s Transportation and...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Pool’s Mobile Claim Office Closing Nov. 5
Oct 28 2008 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reported that adjusters have now made contact with all policyholders except those who have recently reported claims. As a result TWIA will close its mobile catastrophe claim...
Hurricane, Investment Losses Cut Into Chubb’s Q3 Profit
Oct 24 2008 // Like many of its property/casualty competitors, Chubb Corp. saw its third quarter profit cut by investment losses and Hurricane Ike but the New Jersey-based insurer still emerged with $264 million in net income, $300...
Haiti Hurricane Damage Estimated at $1 Billion
Oct 23 2008 // The storms that have battered Haiti since August caused nearly $1 billion of damage, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday. “That’s a lot for a country of 8 million people and there’s been a...
Idaho Residents Remember Strong Earthquake
Oct 22 2008 // Holly Seefried was in bed sleeping beside her husband, Bill, at 8:06 a.m. on Oct. 28, 1983, when they awoke to a roar outside their ranch home near Mackay. The noise grew louder by the second. “There was this...
Oregon Proposes Sharing Wildfire Costs
Oct 22 2008 // The only sure things about wildfires is that they will cost more to put out than they used to and that they remain as unpredictable as ever. Hotter, drier summers, rising labor and equipment costs, buildup of forest fuels...
Travelers Takes Q3 Hit from Hurricanes
Oct 22 2008 // Travelers Cos. Inc.’s net income dropped to $214 million for the third quarter, down from $1.2 billion for the same period last year, as the company absorbed losses from Hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Dolly. The...
California Opens Local Assistance Center for Wildfire Victims
Oct 22 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the establishment of a Local Assistance Center to help victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. The center, located at Dexter Park, in Sylmar, Calif., will...
California Recovers Nearly $13 Million Following 2007 Wildfires
Oct 21 2008 // Nearly one year after the October 2007 wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the state’s Department of Insurance has recovered more than $12.7 million from insurance companies by...
Willis Report: California May See Less Shaking in Earthquake
Oct 21 2008 // Willis Group Holdings, a global insurance broker, has released a report summarizing recent changes in the scientific view of seismic hazard in the United States. The report has been added to the curriculum of the Associate...
$395 Million Approved for Flood, Tornado Recovery in Iowa
Oct 20 2008 // Iowa communities are getting help recovering from a series of natural disasters this year with nearly $395 million in state and federal funding. The money will go to at least 3,200 projects. The biggest chunk of it, about...
Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture
Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...
Hurricane Omar Heads for Leeward Islands
Oct 15 2008 // Omar has intensified to hurricane strength in the last 24 hours and continues to move gradually towards the northern Leeward Islands. It is a relatively small storm with hurricane force winds extending up to just 15 miles...
Wildfires Rage North of Los Angeles
Oct 15 2008 // With savage winds subsiding overnight, firefighters on Tuesday contained 70 percent of one of the three major wildfires that have charred more than 25 square miles, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people...
