Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Typhoon Hagibis Likely to Cause Earnings Event for Japan’s Insurers: Fitch
Oct 29 2019 // Typhoon Hagibis is likely to be an earnings event for Japan’s three main non-life insurance groups, MS&AD Insurance Groups Holdings, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance...
PG&E Open to Extending California Wildfire Victim Claims Deadline
Oct 29 2019 // PG&E Corp. told a judge it’s willing to extend the deadline for victims of wildfires caused by the utility’s equipment to file claims in its bankruptcy. U.S. District Judge James Donato criticized the...
This Wildfire Metric Threatens to Upend PG&E’s Restructuring Plan
Oct 29 2019 // PG&E Corp. investors looking to learn their fate may not get the answer from the bankrupt power company. Instead, the key data point could pop up within days on the website of California’s forestry...
California Wildfire Damage at $25.4B and Rising
Oct 29 2019 // Damages from the fires ripping across California stand at $25.4 billion, and they’re bound to keep rising. The Kincade fire has cost $10.6 billion, while the tally in Southern California is $14.8 billion mainly from...
PG&E Power Shutoffs Hit 2.7M as California Wildfires Burn
Oct 28 2019 // Mass power shutoffs by PG&E Corp. left more than 2.7 million Californians in the dark Sunday, the state’s largest deliberate blackout ever, as the bankrupt utility tries to keep its equipment from igniting...
Insurer Group: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Costliest in Texas History
Oct 25 2019 // The nine tornadoes that hit the Dallas, Texas-area over the weekend have caused an estimated $2 billion in damage, an insurer trade group says, making it the costliest tornado loss in Texas history. The Insurance Council...
California Braces for Biggest Blackout Yet as Massive Wildfire Burns
Oct 25 2019 // As wildfires rage and utilities race to restore power, the worst may be yet to come for California residents. PG&E Corp. has restored power to about 165,000 customers in portions of 18 counties, or about 93% of those...
9 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Outbreak; Insured Losses Pegged at $2B
Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service says nine tornadoes struck the Dallas area during Sunday’s stretch of severe storms in Texas. Forecasters confirmed the twisters Tuesday after surveying damage throughout North Texas. The...
500K-Plus Californians Lose Power; Large Wildfire Rages
Oct 24 2019 // More than half a million people have lost power across California as part of a deliberate blackout designed to keep power lines from igniting wildfires. Meanwhile, a major blaze has already erupted. PG&E Corp. and...
Washington Tornado Uprooted Trees, Sending Them into Homes
Oct 24 2019 // The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down near Shelton, Wash. The tornado his on Friday night, with had winds up to 100 mph. The tornado started on land and traveled more than a half mile before moving...
Insured Losses from Japan’s Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $8B-$16B: AIR
Oct 22 2019 // Insured losses from Typhoon Hagibis, which made landfall in Japan on Oct. 12, will be between 865 billion Japanese yen (US$8 billion) and JPY 1,730 billion (US$16 billion), with more than half of the losses due to inland...
No Fatalities Reported After Dallas Hit by Tornado
Oct 21 2019 // The City of Dallas said in a Twitter feed that no fatalities or serious injuries had been reported following a tornado that hit swept through northern part of the city on Sunday night causing widespread property damage,...
Tropical Storm Nestor Spawns Tornadoes in Florida Gulf but Spares Panhandle
Oct 21 2019 // Tropical Storm Nestor was downgraded Saturday after it spawned a tornado that damaged homes and a school in central Florida but spared an area of the Panhandle devastated one year ago by Hurricane Michael. The storm,...
Small Earthquake Confirmed Off Southern Oregon Coast
Oct 21 2019 // A 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Oregon, The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The USGS mapped the earthquake about 96 miles off the coast of Port Orford, a small town in Curry County about 25...
26 Insurers Extend Time for 2017 California Wildfire Victims for Living Expenses
Oct 18 2019 // Twenty-six insurers have agreed to extend the time limits for 2017 wildfire survivors to access additional living expense benefits. The companies represent a majority of the total losses from the devastating 2017 wildfires...
National Hurricane Center Issues Tropical Storm Warning Along Gulf Coast
Oct 18 2019 // A disturbance in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico is likely to become a tropical storm that will hit the northern U.S. Gulf Coast with wind and rain, forecasters said Thursday. Moving off the eastern coast of Mexico, the...
PG&E Noteholders, California Wildfire Victims File Formal Reorganization Plan
Oct 18 2019 // Noteholders of PG&E Corp. and a committee for victims of the wildfires that pushed the power producer into bankruptcy filed a formal reorganization plan on Thursday for the company, proposing they get effectively all...
Typhoons Faxai, Hagibis Unlikely to Affect Stability of Japan’s Non-Life Insurers: AM Best
Oct 18 2019 // The recent mega-typhoons in Japan are unlikely to affect the financial stability of the country’s three major non-life insurers due to their appropriate catastrophe risk management and strong capitalization levels,...
Florida Officials Say Insurers Not Doing Enough to Settle Hurricane Michael Claims
Oct 17 2019 // It’s been just over a year since Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, devastating the region as a Category 5 storm with 161-mph winds and causing more than $7.2 billion in estimated insured...
Officials: Deadly Los Angeles Wildfire Began Near Base of Electrical Tower
Oct 15 2019 // A deadly wind-driven wildfire that raged across the northern edge of Los Angeles last week started near the base of high-voltage transmission tower owned by electric utility Southern California Edison, company and fire...
