Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Mexico Delegation Seeks Changes to Wildfire Aid Rules
Jan 11 2023 // New Mexico’s congressional delegation says the U.S. government should make changes to rules proposed for processing damage claims stemming from a historic wildfire sparked by forest managers. The delegation sent a...
New Louisiana Laws Require Hurricane Mediation Program, Catastrophe Response Plan
Jan 10 2023 // Louisiana lawmakers passed several bills last legislative session in response to insurers’ handling of recent natural disasters, five of which went into effect Jan. 1, 2023. The legislation resulted from a shaken...
Hurricanes and Floods Bring $120B in 2022 Insurance Losses: Munich Re
Jan 10 2023 // Hurricane Ian in the United States and floods and Australia helped to make 2022 one of the costliest years on record for natural disasters, Munich Re said on Tuesday, warning that climate change was making storms more...
Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Erupts Again, Summit Crater Glows
Jan 9 2023 // Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater, the U.S. Geological Survey said, less than one month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava. The Hawaiian Volcano...
Insured Damages in Canada From Hurricane Fiona Now Top C$800M
Jan 6 2023 // Insured damages from Hurricane Fiona are now estimated at over C$800 million (US$591.2 million), according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), quoting the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). Hurricane...
Storms Spark At Least 6 Illinois Tornadoes
Jan 5 2023 // CHICAGO (AP) – Severe weather that swept Illinois on Tuesday produced at least six tornadoes, the largest number of rare January tornadoes recorded in the state since 1989, the National Weather Service said. Five of the...
California Commissioner Alert Notes Coverage for Floods and Mudslides Caused by Wildfires
Jan 5 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Wednesday issued a formal notice to insurance companies reminding them of their legal duty to cover damage from any future mudslide or similar disaster that is caused by...
New Mexico Seeking Changes to U.S. Rules for Wildfire Claims
Jan 3 2023 // New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is asking that changes be made to rules proposed by the U.S. government as it processes damage claims from a historic wildfire sparked by forest managers. Balderas filed comments...
M5.4 Earthquake in Northern California Confirmed in area Damaged in Earlier Quake
Jan 3 2023 // A moderate New Year’s Day earthquake rattled the region of Northern California where a stronger quake nearly two weeks ago killed two people and left widespread damage, authorities said. The earthquake with a...
No Damage, Injuries From M4.2 Northern California Earthquake
Dec 28 2022 // A 4.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Northern California on Christmas Eve in the same county where a large quake days earlier killed two people and left widespread damage, authorities said. The quake struck at 11:33 a.m....
Talent Gap, Access to Healthcare for Transgender Patients, and Hurricane Ian Recovery
Dec 28 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. State by state variations of laws, compliance protocols, industry transparency, and general regulatory cultures can lend one the impression that keeping up with...
Progressive Lowers Loss Estimate From Hurricane Ian By $400M
Dec 22 2022 // The Progressive Corp. said Dec. 21 that its loss and allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) in the property business are estimated to be $1 billion from, prior to reinsurance, from Hurricane Ian. The insurer said this...
Families Shattered by Tornadoes in Gulf
Dec 20 2022 // A storm system that spawned dozens of reported tornadoes from Texas to the Florida Panhandle was all but done with the South last Thursday after killing at least three people and uprooting families across Louisiana, where...
Small 3.6 Earthquake Confirmed in Northern California
Dec 19 2022 // A small magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area, jolting thousands of people awake and causing minor damage, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The earthquake occurred at 3:39 a.m. Saturday and was...
Investigators in West Texas Following 5.4 Earthquake
Dec 19 2022 // MIDLAND, Texas (AP) – The Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry, on Saturday sent investigators to west Texas following a 5.4 magnitude earthquake near Midland. “RRC...
Tornadoes, Storms Leave Trail of Destruction From New Orleans to Great Plains
Dec 16 2022 // A vast and volatile storm system ripping across the U.S. killed at least three people in Louisiana, spinning up tornadoes that battered the state from north to south, including the New Orleans area where memories of...
Massive Storm Brings Tornadoes to South Central, Blizzard Threat to Plains
Dec 14 2022 // SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A massive storm blowing across the country spawned tornadoes in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as much of the central United States from the Rocky Mountains to...
California, Florida and Texas have the most properties at risk of wildfire
Dec 13 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Wildfires continue to be a massive threat to millions of properties across the United States. With the population growing and major metro areas continuing to develop...
Scientists Say Eruption of Hawaii Volcano Continues to Ease
Dec 13 2022 // The eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island continues to ease, scientists said, reinforcing an earlier pronouncement that the mountain’s first flare-up in nearly 40 years might soon...
USDA: Florida Orange Crop Down 36% After Two Hurricanes
Dec 12 2022 // Production of oranges in Florida this season is forecast to be down 36% from earlier estimates, in part a reflection of twin hurricanes that battered growing regions, according to U.S. Agriculture Department figures...
