Best Read Natural Disasters Headlines
Headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page with the most time spent reading.
#1 The New Approach to Hurricane-Strong Homes? Concrete Walls But Affordable
Jul 21 2025 // If wind mitigation and stronger homes are the paths to reducing insurance claims and bringing down insurance premiums in hurricane-prone areas, as a growing number of industry experts believe, then homeowners, builders and...
#2 Viewpoint: Delay, Deny, Defend for California Wildfire Claims?
Sep 2 2025 // Eight months after the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Los Angeles, commercial and residential policyholders continue to report unreasonably long delays, dubious denials, and conspicuously low settlements. Most...
#3 How Europe Lost an Area the Size of Cyprus to Wildfires This Year
Sep 12 2025 // Patricia Lamela was driving back to the Galician town of Larouco in northwest Spain when she got the call. It was Aug. 13, just before 7 p.m., and a neighbor told her there was a fire in the forest. Lamela, the mayor of...
#4 While LA Burned, Rules to Protect Homes From Wildfires Were on Hold
Aug 12 2025 // As wildfires raged across Los Angeles in January, a state official parried an email from a resident living on the edge of the conflagration: When would long-delayed regulations designed to protect high-risk homes like hers...
#5 Huge Quake Rocks Russia’s Far East, Triggering Tsunami Warnings Around Pacific
Jul 30 2025 // A very powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka coast on Wednesday triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile, and was followed by an eruption of the most active...
#6 Volunteers Repair Appalachian Trail Damage Almost a Year After Hurricane Helene
Jul 29 2025 // UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (AP) — In a rugged patch of the Appalachian Trail in eastern Tennessee, volunteers size up a massive, gnarled tree lying on its side. Its tangled web of roots and dark brown soil, known as a root...
#7 Panel Passes Bill to Curb Vacation Rentals, Boost Housing Supply After Lahaina Wildfire
Jul 29 2025 // Lawmakers on Maui passed legislation aimed at eliminating a large percentage of the Hawaiian island’s vacation rentals to address a housing shortage exacerbated by the wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina two...
#8 The Ghost of Hurricane Katrina Haunts Catastrophe Modelers
Aug 29 2025 // When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans in August 2005, causing greater insurance losses than any other natural disaster in history, it became clear that a lot of the city’s flood protection engineering —...
#9 Older Homes for Sale in California Now Come With Wildfire Warnings
Sep 8 2025 // Most California homes were built long before the state required that they be constructed to withstand wildfires. Now, sellers of older homes in high-risk areas must disclose to potential buyers not only a dwelling’s...
#10 California’s Paradise Still Recovering From Wildfire 7 Years Ago
Sep 12 2025 // Nearly seven years after Paradise was ravaged by wildfire, the foothill town smells like pine trees again. New homes are sprouting up on once-scorched lots. Construction trucks rumble through neighborhoods. An ice cream...
#11 Suspect in Michigan Walmart Stabbings Charged With Rarely Used Terrorism Count
Jul 31 2025 // A Michigan prosecutor filed a terrorism charge this wek against a man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart store. The charge has been rarely used in the state’s courts since it was adopted more than 20 years...
#12 When Is Your Home Safe After Wildfire Smoke? LA Researchers Have Some Answers
Sep 11 2025 // At a church parking lot near Los Angeles, two hazmat-suit-clad workers vacuumed and wiped most of the contents of Elle Schneider’s house. Surrounded by stacked plastic bins of books and clothes, they opened up the...
#13 Viewpoint: Smoke Damage from LA Wildfires Leaves Questions to Be Answered
Apr 2 2025 // The question has come up wondering if smoke damage is covered for those homes that were impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires but were not damaged by the actual fires. A cloud of smoke from a fire is larger than the actual...
#14 Californians Pay Billions for Power Companies’ Wildfire Prevention Efforts. Are They Cost-Effective?
Dec 5 2024 // Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to...
#15 Hurricane Erin Is Disrupting Both Europe’s Weather and Forecasts
Aug 22 2025 // Hurricane Erin is muddling computer models and making forecasters, analysts and traders question the accuracy of the outlook for heat, wind and storms across Europe next week. Erin, which churned through the Atlantic 330...
#16 California Department of Insurance Completes Final Review of Wildfire Model
Jul 24 2025 // The California Department of Insurance completed a review of the state’s first wildfire catastrophe model, marking a dramatic change in the state’s property/casualty insurance ratemaking process. The new model...
#17 LA Neighbors See Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis
Feb 7 2025 // Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has...
#18 Viewpoint: Earthquake Insurance and Surplus Lines: Clarifying a Legal Grey Zone
Aug 28 2025 // The California property insurance market is undergoing a dramatic shift. As admitted carriers restrict their appetite for business in the state—particularly in high-risk zones—surplus lines insurers are increasingly...
#19 Texas Panhandle Town Grapples with Recovery One Year After Devastating Wildfire
Feb 27 2025 // Past the terracotta canyons and sloping hills in the Texas Panhandle is a colorful, small town center. A vibrant mural of the town’s name greets visitors, the yellow and blue paint from a historic motel can be seen...
#20 Construction Delays, Litigation Can Follow Hurricanes: A Guide for Property Owners
Sep 9 2025 // When a hurricane tears through a community, the damage left behind can feel overwhelming. For property owners, the priority is to get repairs done quickly so that life and business can return to normal. But too often,...
