Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Farm Losses from Tennessee Tornadoes Top $29 Million
Feb 18 2008 // Agriculture officials say storm-related farm losses in Tennessee’s Macon County could surpass $29 million. The county’s livestock and tobacco industries were particularly hard-hit by the tornado that claimed at...
RMS Launches ‘Paradex’ Model for European Windstorms
Feb 15 2008 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS) announced the launch of “the first parametric index for assessing insured industry losses from windstorms in Europe.” The new model -” Paradex Europe Windstorm”...
Bush’s Budget Would Include Millions for Hurricane Research
Feb 14 2008 // President Bush’s proposed budget would include millions more in funding to improve hurricane forecasts and further research the storms, a federal official said at a recent regional discussion of the budget. The...
FEMA Looks at Expanded Use of Trains in Hurricane Evacuations
Feb 13 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency may expand the use of passenger trains to evacuate the sick and elderly in advance of hurricanes across the Gulf Coast, a FEMA official said. Glenn Cannon, a FEMA assistant...
National Guard Truck Flips Over on Way to Tenn. Tornado Disaster Site
Feb 12 2008 // A Tennessee National Guard truck on the way to help tornado recovery efforts in Macon County turned over on the side of Interstate 40. Randy Harris, a guard spokesman, said the five-ton truck was among other engineering...
Tennessee Task Force Begins Debris Removal in Wake of Tornadoes
Feb 11 2008 // A multi-agency state task force led by the Tennessee Department of Transportation to help the hardest hit areas with storm debris removal got underway Sunday. Operation “Tennessee Storm” will be aimed at debris...
Texas Urges Verification of Windstorm Insurance Inspectors
Feb 11 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) issued a reminder to consumers that windstorm insurance inspections, which are required for properties to be eligible for wind and hail coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance...
More Atlantic Hurricane Activity Doesn’t Mean More Landfall Risk
Feb 10 2008 // New research on the link between the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and U.S. landfall activity suggests that using Atlantic basin hurricane activity as a proxy for landfall activity can lead to erroneous...
U.S. Disaster Plan Takes Lessons From Katrina, Calif.’s Wildfires
Feb 10 2008 // Streamlined document called ‘essential tool for emergency managers’ in public and private sectors The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a new comprehensive disaster plan for the country that...
Tenn. Gov. Responds to Deadly Tornadoes That Struck State
Feb 7 2008 // Tenn. Gov. Phil Bredesen received detailed briefings from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials in the wake of deadly tornadoes that struck Tennessee on Tuesday. The storms have resulted in 31 fatalities, 150...
Farmers Insurance Mobile Claims Team at Sites of Tenn. Tornadoes
Feb 7 2008 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has mobilized additional claims personnel to the areas impacted by the recent tornadoes in Tennessee. As of Wednesday Farmers has received more than 100 claims in Tennessee. The Farmers...
Super Tuesday Tornadoes Tear Through U.S. Mid-South
Feb 7 2008 // More than two dozen tornadoes tore through the mid-South late Tuesday night, destroying homes, barns, and industrial buildings from Texas to Ohio. The severe thunderstorm outbreak, which included tornadoes, hail, heavy...
Ark. Gov. Declares 10 Counties Disaster Areas After Tornadoes, Storms
Feb 7 2008 // Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has declared Baxter, Conway, Independence, Izard, Pope, Randolph, Sharp, Stone, Union and Van Buren Counties state disaster areas due to the damage caused by powerful tornadoes and violent...
Travelers Deploys Response Units to States Affected by Tornadoes
Feb 7 2008 // Travelers mobilized its catastrophe response unit Wednesday including sending four mobile claim headquarters to tornado-affected areas in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The mobile units will be strategically...
Brutal Tornadoes Lacerate Southern States Killing at Least 48 People
Feb 6 2008 // A severe weather front fell upon the Southern states inciting a series of strong tornadoes that moved across Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, wreaking damage and killing at least 48. As the information of the...
Former Hurricane Program Manager to Head Ala. Emergency Agency
Feb 1 2008 // Alabama Gov. Bob Riley appointed Brock Long to serve as director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. Long has served in emergency management at the state and federal levels specializing in hurricane planning and...
Allstate 4Q Profit Falls 37% as Calif. Wildfire Losses Top $300M
Jan 31 2008 // Hit by an increase in catastrophe losses, Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer Allstate Corp. saw its profit drop by more than 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The fourth quarter net...
9th Windstorm Insurance Forum to Focus on Fla. Property Concerns
Jan 30 2008 // The concerns of property insurance in Florida and the perils facing the property insurance industry are some of the key issues to be addressed at the Ninth Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference, set for Feb. 4 – 7 in...
Ohio Insurance Director Issues Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Bulletin
Jan 29 2008 // Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson earlier this month issued a bulletin concerning the recent extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), as enacted by Congress and signed by the President. The...
Mo. Governor Seeks Federal Help to Recover from Rare Winter Tornadoes
Jan 28 2008 // Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is seeking federal help recovering from a storm that churned up rare winter tornadoes. Two people died, 30 others were injured and more than 400 homes were damaged in the storms that started the...
