Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Number of western businesses buying property terrorism coverage increases dramatically
Dec 10 2006 // Nearly six in 10 large and mid-sized U.S. businesses obtained insurance to cover property terrorism risks during 2005, an increase from the 2003 average of 27 percent and up from 50 percent in 2004. A report from insurance...
Tornado Hits London
Dec 8 2006 // A freak tornado struck a section of northwest London on Thursday morning, Dec. 7, tearing the roofs off and causing other damage to as many as 150 homes, wrecking a number of cars and leaving six people injured....
Guy Carpenter Issues Report on Impact of Typhoon Saomai
Dec 6 2006 // Guy Carpenter & Co., the global risk and reinsurance specialist of the Marsh & McLennan Companies announced that its Instrat(R) unit has published “Typhoon Saomai: Impact and Historical...
RMS Appoints Zoback VP of Earthquake Risk Applications
Dec 6 2006 // Risk Management Solutions, Newark, Calif., announced that Mary Lou Zoback has joined the firm as vice president of earthquake risk applications. A 28-year veteran of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Zoback is a...
Virginia Attorney’s Suit Blames City for Hurricane Floyd Floods
Nov 22 2006 // A Virginia attorney has refiled a $20 million lawsuit that blames the city of Newport News for flooding during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The suit is on behalf of residents of the Denbigh area of the city, and follows a...
Modeler RMS Reaffirms Hurricane Loss Projections Through 2011
Nov 22 2006 // Hurricane loss modeler Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has reaffirmed its medium-term five-year view of landfalling hurricane risk for the period of 2007-2011. The company is projecting higher modeled annualized insurance...
Mississippi Governor Cited for Handling of Hurricane Katrina
Nov 21 2006 // Governor Haley Barbour has been named the nation’s most outstanding governor and a 2006 Public Official of the Year in recognition of his resourcefulness and cool-headed leadership in the face of Hurricane...
Catastrophe Bond Investors to Gain from Mild Hurricane Season
Nov 21 2006 // Investors who bet against the odds of another devastating Atlantic hurricane season now stand to cash in big-time on “catastrophe bonds.” Contrary to expert predictions, the season turned out to be the mildest...
At Least 3 Dead in N.C. Tornadoes That Swept Across South
Nov 17 2006 // Thunderstorms that tore up homes and buildings across the South hit North Carolina early Thursday, killing at least three people and leaving thousands without power. Another person died Wednesday as a tornado swept through...
Crescent City Harbor Suffers Up To $700K in Tsunami Damages
Nov 17 2006 // The National Weather Service lifted a tsunami advisory hours before powerful waves damaged docks and tore boats from their moorings in Northern California. Forecasters said they were wary of causing chaos along the...
Tsunami Waves Minimal after Undersea Japan Quake
Nov 16 2006 // A strong undersea earthquake south of the Kuril Islands off Japan’s northwest coast, which measured up to 8.1 on the Richter Scale, failed to produce any significant tsunami’s Following the quake, warnings went...
Texas Commissioner Agrees to Windstorm Rate Hikes
Nov 16 2006 // Although not as substantial as those sought by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin signed an order on Nov. 15 giving TWIA rate hikes of 3.7 percent for commercial property...
New Research Center in Miss. Aims for Better Hurricane Forecasts
Nov 15 2006 // Scientists at a new research institute are studying ways to improve hurricane forecasts and protect the U.S. Gulf Coast’s natural resources from storms, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
SOUTHEAST TOPS TOP 10 HURRICANE-PRONE AREAS
Nov 6 2006 // Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University, in Miami released the Top 10 List that nobody wants to be on: the 10 Most Vulnerable U.S. Mainland...
Hawaii’s earthquake losses, not earthquake policies, on the rise
Nov 6 2006 // Estimated damages from the two earthquakes that struck Hawaii on Oct. 15 have been rising. Yet the recent disaster has not spurred homeowners and businesses to purchase earthquake coverage, according the state’s...
Hawaii acknowledges tsunami warning deficiencies
Nov 6 2006 // Hawaii may have just suffered through two earthquakes, but the state says it has a potential flood problem. Hawaii’s tsunami warning system has serious deficiencies in reliability and coverage area, according to...
Southeast tops top 10 hurricane-prone areas
Nov 5 2006 // Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University, in Miami released the Top 10 List that nobody wants to be on: the 10 Most Vulnerable U.S. Mainland...
Hawaii’s earthquake losses, not earthquake policies, on the rise
Nov 5 2006 // Estimated damages from the two earthquakes that struck Hawaii on Oct. 15 have been rising. Yet the recent disaster has not spurred homeowners and businesses to purchase earthquake coverage, according the state’s...
Hawaii Acknowledges Tsunami Warning Deficiencies
Nov 2 2006 // Hawaii’s tsunami warning system has serious deficiencies in reliability and coverage area, according to state emergency officials. About 100 of the tsunami sirens don’t have emergency backup power, meaning they...
Evacuees Return to Find Homes Destroyed by Calif. Wildfire
Nov 1 2006 // While crews made progress on a wildfire that killed four firefighters, evacuees began returning to their homes — often to find nothing left. Carol Hurley stood Saturday at the still-smoldering wreckage of a...
