Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
4 Small Tornadoes Confirmed in Oklahoma, 2 in Texas
Oct 10 2018 // The National Weather Service reported that six small tornadoes from a single storm system hit Texas and Oklahoma, including one that forced the closure of a state highway in northeastern Oklahoma for more than six...
Fast-Moving Hurricane Michael, Now Category 4, Threatens Florida Panhandle
Oct 10 2018 // Hurricane Michael, with winds strengthening to 145 miles an hour, is poised to be the strongest storm to hit the continental U.S. since 2004, with a life-threatening surge and the potential to cause $16 billion in...
Northern California’s Cascade Wildfire Tied to PG&E Equipment
Oct 9 2018 // PG&E Corp.-owned equipment caused the Cascade fire in Northern California last year, state investigators have determined. Sagging power lines were the ignition source of the blaze, the California Department of Forestry...
Oklahoma Tornado Forces Closure of State Highway
Oct 9 2018 // The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a state highway in the town of Fairfax in Osage County has been closed because of tornado damage, the Tulsa World newspaper reported. The newspaper says there have been no reports of...
Update: Hurricane Michael Could Bring 12 Ft. Storm Surge to Panhandle Wednesday
Oct 9 2018 // Michael is forecast to become the second hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in a month as it heads toward Florida with winds of 90 miles per hour. The fast-moving storm has already sent cotton prices to a one-week high...
Hurricane Michael Headed Towards Florida Panhandle, 13 Killed by Storm in Central America
Oct 9 2018 // Florida’s governor mobilized National Guard troops and ordered Gulf Coast residents to head inland or evacuate as Hurricane Michael churned toward shore on Monday, with the storm forecast to strengthen rapidly before...
CoreLogic: 57K Homes in Florida Totaling $13.B RCV At Risk from Hurricane Michael
Oct 9 2018 // At least 57,000 homes along Florida’s Gulf Coast with a reconstruction cost value (RCV) of about $13.4 billion are a potential risk of storm surge damage from Hurricane Michael, according to a data analysis released...
Florida Activates Disaster Fraud Teams Ahead of Hurricane Michael
Oct 8 2018 // The Florida Department of Financial Services Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) has been activated ahead of what is expected to become Hurricane Michael and will be deployed in the affected areas to protect...
Update: Florida Calls Emergency Ahead of Expected Hurricane Michael
Oct 7 2018 // Michael, the tropical storm that’s been chugging toward the Florida panhandle, is now a hurricane, threatening to bring driving rain and high winds to the region’s agricultural and tourism industry. While Gulf...
Indiana Complex Damaged by Tornado Reopens
Oct 5 2018 // A central Indiana apartment complex ravaged by a 2016 tornado has reopened its first renovated units more than two years after that storm. About three dozen one-bedroom units reopened last week in one building at Park...
California Insurance Commissioner Wants Inventory Requirements Eased for 2018 Wildfire Survivors
Oct 4 2018 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones wants insurers to assist wildfire survivors by voluntarily easing detailed personal property home inventory requirements and to follow the lead of other insurers providing at...
Remnants of Tropical Storm Causes Flooding, Traps Arizona Cars
Oct 4 2018 // Remnants of a tropical storm drenched parts of the desert Southwest this week, trapping some drivers on swamped streets of Phoenix, Ariz. as authorities prepared for possible flash flooding in the state, central Utah and...
Army Corps Preparing its Own Hurricane Protection Plan for Houston
Oct 4 2018 // Later this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will recommend a multi-billion-dollar plan to help protect the Texas coast — the Houston area in particular — from hurricanes. When it will become a reality, however,...
Japanese Typhoons Put Downward Pressure on Creditworthiness of Insurers: S&P
Oct 4 2018 // The recent run of large natural disasters to hit Japan likely has put downward pressure on the creditworthiness of the nation’s three largest non-life insurance groups, according to S&P Global Ratings in a market...
Pennsylvania Warns About Flood-Damaged Vehicles After Hurricane Florence
Oct 3 2018 // With automotive officials estimating that as many as 40,000 vehicles were damaged by flooding from Hurricane Florence, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) are...
Insurtech Jumpstart Rolls out Parametric Earthquake Product for Californians
Oct 2 2018 // A firm that wants to make a name for itself as the first parametric insurtech in the U.S. for earthquakes has officially launched in California, over a year after its anticipated original launch date. Jumpstart Insurance...
Texas Coastal Lawmakers Urge Denial of Windstorm Insurer’s 10% Rate Increase Request
Oct 1 2018 // More than 20 state legislators have signed a letter addressed to Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan requesting that a 10 percent rate increase filed by the state’s property insurer of last resort for wind and...
South Carolina Issues Emergency Order to Insurers, Updates Hurricane Florence Data Call
Oct 1 2018 // The South Carolina Department of Insurance has issued two Hurricane Florence-related notices to all property and casualty insurers doing business in the state. SCDOI Director Ray Farmer issued an emergency regulation Sept....
Costs to Fight Wildfires in Utah Double This Year
Oct 1 2018 // Costs to fight wildfires in Utah are increasing by about $1 million a day right now and authorities expect the season to last throughout October. State Forester Brian Cottam says on average, there are roughly 1,100 fire...
Death Toll from Indonesia’s 7.5 Magnitude Quake, Tsunami May Reach Thousands
Sep 30 2018 // The death toll from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi climbed to more than 800, with casualties expected to reach into the thousands as authorities try to reach those...
