Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurance Payments Fall Short of Repair Costs after Tennessee Tornado
Jul 25 2008 // Tennessee officials razed fairgrounds bleachers damaged by a tornado in Clarksville, Tennessee. Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Cowling said the tornado on May 3 moved parts of the concrete bleachers 2 inches. A...
Threat of Flooding Persists After Dolly Downgrades to Tropical Storm
Jul 25 2008 // Hurricane Dolly barreled into South Texas on Wednesday, July 23 lashing the coast with winds up to 100 mph (161 kph) and dumping heavy rain that flooded some low-lying areas but spared levees along the heavily populated...
Coastal Texas Begins Clean-up After Hurricane Dolly
Jul 25 2008 // Residents in south Texas on the coast have begun the tough job of cleaning up at Hurricane Dolly slammed into the coast on Wednesday, July 23. On Thursday power lines were still down, but according to news reports, many...
Utah Geologists Look for Earthquake Fault Clues
Jul 25 2008 // Utah State University geologists say a close look at a deep trench along the East Cache Fault has uncovered some good news: There’s no evidence of recent earthquakes along that section of the fault. USU geology...
Flooding Feared Along U.S.-Texas Border from Hurricane Dolly
Jul 24 2008 // After Hurricane Dolly unleashed a fury of damaging winds and wicked rain on the U.S.-Mexico coastline and diminished to a tropical storm, widespread flooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley became the top concern...
FEMA Planning Earthquake Forum in Indiana
Jul 23 2008 // One of two federal government-sponsored forums in Midwestern cities to help businesses prepare for a major earthquake will be held in Evansville. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says the goal of the...
Texas Windstorm Pool: No Policies Issued With Hurricane in the Gulf
Jul 22 2008 // With Tropical Storm Dolly roiling it’s way into probable hurricane status, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association issued a reminder to agents that once a “hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico or is within the...
Strong Quake Shake Northern Japan Coast But No Tsunami Danger
Jul 22 2008 // A strong earthquake with a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast Monday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the nation’s weather agency said. The quake occurred at 8:30 p.m., about 20...
Tornado Threats Loom Large as Flood Waters Recede
Jul 21 2008 // Much has been written in the last six weeks about the 2008 Midwest Flood. Many are saying the devastation will rival the Great Flood of 1993, and that the crop damage will affect the food supply of this country. While that...
Midwest States High on List for Numbers of Tornadoes
Jul 21 2008 // While a rural area to the northeast of Denver, Colo., tops the nation when it comes to metropolitan areas most prone to tornadoes, Texas leads the states in the average total number of tornadoes per year in the continental...
Forecast: Tropical Storm Dolly to Become Hurricane, Hit Southern Texas
Jul 21 2008 // Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas Monday, and forecasters said they expected it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week. The storm, with sustained winds of...
Tropical Storm Cristobal Rumbles off the Carolinas
Jul 21 2008 // Tropical Storm Cristobal, the first tropical storm to menace the Southeast seaboard this hurricane season, sent outer bands of intermittent rain lashing the eastern Carolinas July 19 as forecasters predicted it could dump...
Tropical Storm Dolly Enters Gulf, Texas May Be Target
Jul 21 2008 // The National Hurricane Center reported at 11 a.m. EDT on July 21 that Tropical Storm Dolly had crossed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and entered the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane watch was issued for the Texas coast from...
Washington Offers Assistance to Homeowners Hit by Wildfires
Jul 18 2008 // As wildfires erupt across Eastern Washington, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler urges homeowners needing help with their insurance claims to call the Insurance Consumer Hotline (800-562-6900). “Most...
Okla. City to Add Telephones as Tools for Tornado Warnings
Jul 18 2008 // In addition to blaring sirens and screeching weather-radio alerts, residents in Glenpool, Okla., will now have another way of learning about approaching tornadoes: they will get a telephone call. The City Council has...
Preliminary Estimates of Tornado Damage in North Dakota Top $1 Million
Jul 18 2008 // A preliminary estimate of damage from the tornado that struck Rolla, Norht Dakota last week now tops $1 million. Rolette County Tax Director Diane Schwandt expects that estimate to grow. Schwandt says property owners are...
Carvill Sees Rising Interest in Trading for Hurricane Derivative Products
Jul 17 2008 // Independent reinsurance broker Carvill reports that trading in its derivative contracts for hurricane risk continues to grow. The Carvill Hurricane Index trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). As news of...
Wildfires Bring Demand for Private Firefighters
Jul 17 2008 // Seated behind the wheel of a fire engine, Dave Breglia follows a map dotted with expensive homes threatened by wildfires. His job: protect high-end real estate and save an insurance company millions of dollars. “I...
Iowa Attorney General Warns About Scams After Tornadoes and Floods
Jul 16 2008 // Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Attorney General Tom Miller recently reminded Iowans to beware of a variety of scams in the wake of the tornadoes and floods over the last several weeks. “It’s the definition of adding...
Economic Downturn Dooms Florida Hurricane Supplies Tax Break
Jul 14 2008 // Economic woes have forced Florida lawmakers to ax a pair of popular tax breaks as parents prepare to return their children to school next month and the state readies itself for hurricane season. Prompted by dismal revenue...
