Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Court Limits Insurer’s Payout in Massive Wisconsin Wildfire
Oct 31 2018 // The state Supreme Court is limiting an insurance company’s payout in a massive northwestern Wisconsin wildfire. Logging equipment owned by Ray Duerr Logging LLC sparked the Germann Road Fire in Douglas County in May...
Weather, Wildfire Claims an Increasing Share of Home Insurance Losses
Oct 31 2018 // U.S homeowners insurers saw an increase in both the number of losses and the percentage of those losses that resulted from an extreme weather event during 2017. According to a LexisNexis Home Trends report, loss costs...
Willis Research Network Renews Partnership with Global Earthquake Model Foundation
Oct 31 2018 // The Willis Research Network (WRN) announced it has renewed its partnership with the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation. The agreement represents a continued commitment to working collaboratively in order to develop...
Update: Typhoon Yutu Pummels Philippines; Death Toll Rises from Landslides, Floods
Oct 31 2018 // At least 10 people were killed and about 20 are missing in a trail of landslides in the mountainous region of northern Philippines after the devastation caused by Typhoon Yutu, according to government authorities. Rescuers...
Typhoon Yutu Slams into Philippines, Traveling Path of Super Storm Mangkhut
Oct 30 2018 // Typhoon Yutu slammed into northern Philippines on Tuesday and is traveling a path similar to last month’s super storm Mangkhut that killed at least 82 people and damaged about $500 million of farm output in the...
Hurricane Michael Death Toll Now at 35 in Florida, 45 Total
Oct 30 2018 // Florida authorities have linked six more deaths to Hurricane Michael, raising the state’s death toll to 35. The storm’s overall death toll now stands at 45, with 10 deaths in other states. Florida Emergency...
PERILS Offers Windstorm Forecasting Platform in Australia, Updates Europe Service
Oct 29 2018 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has launched a windstorm forecasting platform in Australia and updated its existing service in Europe. The website,...
Philippine Authorities Move People to Safer Grounds as Typhoon Approaches
Oct 29 2018 // Philippine authorities started to move people to safer grounds as Typhoon Yutu approaches, tracking a path similar to last month’s storm that devastated rice-producing provinces in the main island of Luzon. Yutu,...
Damage to Florida Crops from Hurricane Michael to Total $158M
Oct 29 2018 // A new study says Florida crops suffered $158 million in damages from Hurricane Michael. The report released Friday by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says that almost all of the...
Super Typhoon Yutu Threatens Philippines’ Most Populous Island
Oct 28 2018 // Super Typhoon Yutu could rip into eastern Luzon in the Philippines on Tuesday, extending the toll of destruction it left in the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands earlier this week. Yutu was about 731 miles (1,176 kilometers)...
Army Corps, Texas Officials Propose Sweeping Hurricane Protection Plan
Oct 26 2018 // Following years of research, studies and public debate, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — in partnership with the state’s General Land Office — has recommended a multi-billion-dollar project that would protect...
Mexico Begins Digging Out from Destruction of Hurricane Willa
Oct 25 2018 // Residents on Mexico’s Pacific Coast on Wednesday began clearing up the wreckage left by Hurricane Willa, which ripped through towns overnight, tearing off rooftops, downing power lines and splitting trees...
Typhoon Yutu Hits Northern Mariana Islands as Strongest Storm in 68 Years
Oct 25 2018 // Super Typhoon Yutu battered the Pacific Ocean’s Northern Mariana Islands with 178 mile (286 kilometers) per hour winds, making it the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory since 1950. The storm’s eye...
Mexican Insurers Will Absorb Losses from Hurricane Willa: A.M. Best
Oct 25 2018 // Mexico’s insurance industry overall remains well-capitalized and can absorb the financial impact generated from Hurricane Willa, according to an A.M. Best briefing. Hurricane Willa made landfall on Oct. 23 on...
Insurers Under Scrutiny in Puerto Rico with 13,600 Hurricane Maria Claims Still Open
Oct 25 2018 // Thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced to drain their savings, close their businesses, or resign themselves to living with structural damage as they fight insurance companies over millions of dollars’ worth of...
Survey: Florida Keys Population Fell by Nearly 3K After Hurricane Irma
Oct 25 2018 // An annual population survey in the Florida Keys shows how many people left the island chain after Hurricane Irma last year. The Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida found that every Keys...
Georgia Gov. Calls Special Session to Address Hurricane Michael Recovery Costs
Oct 24 2018 // Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has called a special session of the state legislature to grapple with the recovery costs from Hurricane Michael. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the governor’s office expects...
Galveston Struggling to Rebuild Housing 10 Years After Hurricane Ike
Oct 24 2018 // Galveston hasn’t done enough to rebuild public housing that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike a decade ago, public housing advocates say. Fewer than half of the island city’s 569 public housing units have been...
Weakened Hurricane Willa Moves Inland from Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Oct 24 2018 // Willa’s fierce winds eased as the storm barreled inland over Mexico early on Wednesday, unleashing heavy rains after leaving power outages and toppled trees on the coast but causing no deaths, officials and...
Florida Death Toll From Hurricane Michael Climbs to 29
Oct 24 2018 // Authorities in Florida say Hurricane Michael has killed at least 29 people in the state, bringing the overall death toll to 39. Florida Emergency Management Division spokesman Alberto Moscoso says the state toll stood at...
