Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
$25 million tornado damage in north Georgia
May 8 2006 // Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine described the tornadoes as the second largest insurance disaster in Georgia and as one of the most financially-devastating storms in Georgia’s history. More than $25 million in...
Mayfield: ‘2006 hurricane season CAN be worse than 2005’
May 8 2006 // With more than 55 million people living in coastal communities, the nation must learn its lesson from the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and prepare now for what will happen after June 1, according to Max Mayfield,...
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association: Challenges and solutions
May 8 2006 // The 2006 hurricane season is looming and the insurance industry already sees dark clouds on the horizon. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is considerably under-funded in the event a major hurricane makes landfall...
Hurricane winds could be felt in professional liability markets
May 8 2006 // The professional liability market may be significantly affected by the increase in frequency and severity of hurricanes, causing greater rating agency scrutiny and changes to evaluation models. “The three recent...
Lloyd’s sees 1906 San Francisco earthquake as a turning point
May 8 2006 // One of the most significant natural disasters in U.S. history, the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, rolled to its centennial anniversary April 18, 2006. One hundred years ago in San Francisco, the Earth bounced and the...
Tonga Fails to Receive Tsunami Alert from Hawaii Center
May 5 2006 // Minutes after an earthquake struck near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, tsunami warnings began to radiate to countries as far away as Fiji and New Zealand by phone, e-mail and fax. But in the island country closest to...
Hurricane Awareness Tour Successfully Concludes in Tampa, Fla.
May 5 2006 // With the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season less than one month away, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2006 Hurricane Awareness Tour has come to a successful conclusion in Tampa,...
Research Center to Unveil New Hurricane Loss Prediction Model
May 5 2006 // The first public model to project hurricane losses for the State of Florida has been completed by the International Hurricane Research Center in Miami, Fla. The new model already has produced excellent figures on Hurricane...
Texas Agent Group Supports Increase in Windstorm Limits
May 4 2006 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas announced its support of the proposal by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to increase commercial and government building limits to $3 million. IIAT Executive...
Businesses Call for Federal Outreach on Long-Term Terrorism Solution
May 4 2006 // The business-backed Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) says it welcomes the recent request by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) for public comments on a long-term terrorism insurance...
‘Miss Piggy,’ NOAA Aircrew, Hurricane Center Forecasters Visiting Ala., Fla.
May 3 2006 // Forecasters from the NOAA National Hurricane Center will join the air crew from the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center on hurricane hunter aircraft visits March 3, 4 and 5 to Mobile, Ala., West Palm Beach, Fla. and Tampa,...
Minn. Officials Look for Ways to Teach Immigrants What Tornado Sirens Mean
May 2 2006 // Officials in Minnesota are looking for ways to teach new immigrants what tornado sirens mean. Mao Thao had no idea what it meant the first time she heard a tornado siren go off. The recently arrived Hmong refugee spoke no...
NOAA Aircrew Begins Hurricane Awareness Mission in Texas
May 1 2006 // With the impact of a record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season still etched on the coastline from Texas to Florida, and recovery on the minds of its residents, forecasters from the NOAA National Hurricane Center will...
Gov. Bush Recommends $565M Hurricane Preparedness Budget
Apr 28 2006 // A $565 million hurricane preparedness budget which includes funding for response and recovery recommendations has been recommended by Gov. Jeb Bush and Lt. Governor Toni Jennings. According to Gov. Bush, the...
Fla. Approves 12-Day Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday
Apr 28 2006 // Governor Jeb Bush has signed legislation authorizing Florida’s second annual 12-day sales tax holiday for hurricane preparedness. The Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday is an important component of Governor...
Survey Says Risk Managers Spent More on Disaster Preparedness, Catastrophe Management
Apr 27 2006 // Spending for loss control services increased or remained flat for a majority of organizations in the past year, and the greatest spending increases occurred in such areas as disaster preparedness and catastrophe...
U.S. Commercial Brokers Reiterate Call for Terrorism Backstop
Apr 25 2006 // The commercial insurance marketplace cannot effectively price and underwrite terrorism coverage because there still is no effective modeling, so any long-term solution to the terrorism risk coverage must involve the...
Engineers Working, Stretching, Bending Toward Earthquake-Proof Building
Apr 19 2006 // Sometime in the not-so-distant future, newly constructed buildings will be able to withstand earthquakes of the magnitude that destroyed San Francisco one century ago, scientists say. Working with super-strong materials...
Fireman’s Fund Sponsors Wildfire Seminar on San Francisco Earthquake Centennial
Apr 18 2006 // As the nation commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, one of the surviving companies from that disaster — Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., will be hosting a...
Bulletins Issued, Hotline Accepting Calls About Tenn. Tornados
Apr 17 2006 // Tennessee Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Paula A. Flowers has announced that her department is ready to assist consumers and insurance companies as they work to rebuild the communities affected by last week’s...
