Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Los Angeles Wildfire Has Destroyed 82 Homes, New Estimate Finds
Sep 11 2009 // Fire officials say a new damage survey shows 82 homes have been destroyed from the blaze burning north of Los Angeles, up four from the previous report. The U.S. Forest Service also increased containment of the fire to 71...
Hurricane Fred Weakens in Atlantic
Sep 10 2009 // Hurricane Fred weakened on Wednesday after briefly flaring into a powerful Category 3 storm in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and was forecast to fizzle as it churned far away from land. Fred’s sustained winds dropped to...
Fred Now a Category 2 Hurricane
Sep 9 2009 // According to the most recent bulletin (5:00 a.m. AST) from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fred has intensified to a Category 2 hurricane on the Safer-Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of around 105 mph,...
AIR Worldwide Updates Mediterranean Region Earthquake Model
Sep 9 2009 // AIR Worldwide Corporation has updated its probabilistic earthquake risk model for the Mediterranean region. The Boston-based catastrophe risk modeling firm, noted that the model is “used by European insurers,...
Tropical Storm Fred Forms in Eastern Atlantic
Sep 8 2009 // The National Hurricane Center in Miami is tracking the season’s latest potential cyclone, Fred, which Has strengthened into a tropical storm over the “far eastern tropical Atlantic.” The NHC’s 5:00...
Tornado Threat Increases as Gulf Hurricanes Get Larger
Sep 8 2009 // Tornadoes that occur from hurricanes moving inland from the Gulf Coast are increasing in frequency, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This increase seems to reflect the increase in size and...
Florida in Better, Not Perfect, Insurance Shape Should Major Hurricane Hit
Sep 7 2009 // Florida property insurers are warning that a major hurricane is likely this season given the state’s history of storms. At the same time, the industry says, the state-backed catastrophe reinsurance fund, the Florida...
California Wildfire Called Arson
Sep 4 2009 // As of early Friday morning, the Station wildfire that is burning through the hills above Los Angeles was about 40 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. Fire officials...
Tropical Storm Erika ‘Remains Disorganized’ NHC Reports
Sep 3 2009 // According to the National Hurricane Center’s 5:00 a.m. AST bulletin, the center of “poorly-organized tropical storm Erika” was located about 85 miles, 140 kms, west of Guadeloupe and about 260 miles, 420...
Hurricane Jimena Swirls Past Southern Baja Resorts
Sep 3 2009 // Hurricane Jimena weakened to a Category 2 storm as it bore down on the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Jimena’s maximum sustained winds decreased late Tuesday to near 110 mph (175 kph) and the...
Florida Hurricane, Pension Funds Boosted By Financial Markets Upswing
Sep 3 2009 // Florida’s public employee pension and hurricane catastrophe funds are benefiting from an upswing in the financial markets, state investment managers said earlier this week. The State Board of Administration received...
‘Disorganized’ Tropical Storm Erika Forms in the Atlantic
Sep 2 2009 // As of 5:00 a.m. AST, Tropical Storm Erika was located about 280 miles, 455 kms, east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands. The National Hurricane Center in Miami described the storm as “disorganized” with...
Some Texas Windstorm Policyholders Must Buy Flood Coverage
Sep 1 2009 // Some property owners in Texas coastal counties that seek wind insurance coverage from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association will be required to buy flood insurance equal to at least 90 percent of the property’s...
UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute to Host Conference on Terrorism
Aug 31 2009 // The UK’s Chartered Insurance Institute announced that its London Market faculty will hold a second “Counter Terrorist Workshop” in conjunction with the City of London Police on November 10. The CII said...
California Wildfires Threaten Thousands of Homes
Aug 31 2009 // A wildfire in the mountains above Los Angeles has surged in every direction, going in a single day from a modest threat to a danger to some 10,000 homes. The blaze nearly tripled in size in triple-digit heat Saturday,...
Progress Celebrated on Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Aug 31 2009 // Gulf Coast officials and residents marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a mix of solemn remembrances and celebrations of how far the region has come in its recovery from the storm’s devastation. In...
UPDATE: Jimena ‘Extremely Dangerous Hurricane’ Says NHC
Aug 31 2009 // As Hurricane Jimena nears the coast of Baja California, Mexico is bracing for the onslaught. The National Hurricane Center in Miami described the storm as “extremely dangerous,” with maximum sustained winds...
Canada’s Insurers Urge Ontario Residents to Check Tornado Coverage
Aug 28 2009 // Canada’s home, car and business insurers have urged residents affected by tornadoes that recently tore through southern Ontario to check their homeowner’s policy and contact their insurance representative as...
Tropical Storm Danny Weakens; East Coast Likely Spared Hurricane
Aug 28 2009 // Tropical Storm Danny weakened in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday and was no longer expected to become a hurricane, but it edged closer to the U.S. coast on a path that could take it to Canada’s Atlantic provinces by...
Golfers Help South Carolina Wildfire Victims Who Lacked Insurance
Aug 28 2009 // Golfers teed off on the South Carolina coast to help the victims of a wildfire that scorched hundreds of acres earlier this year. Thursday’s pro-am at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach was held to...
