Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Storm Francine Churns Toward Louisiana as Path Shifts
Sep 10 2024 // Tropical Storm Francine is set to become a hurricane Tuesday as it churns toward Louisiana after shifting east, forcing some oil drillers to halt production but following a path that will likely avert key natural gas...
Another Fast-Growing Southern California Wildfire Forces Evacuations
Sep 10 2024 // A Southern California wildfire that broke out in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon Monday has exploded to more than 8,500 acres overnight. By Tuesday morning, the Airport Fire had forced the evacuation of some homes in...
Residents in Louisiana City Still Recovering From 2020 Hurricanes
Sep 10 2024 // LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Every other day Lois Malvo waits for her son to bring six buckets of water from a spigot in the backyard. He then bathes his 78-year-old mother using water heated on the stove and washes her with...
Toxic Debris from Hawaii Wildfire Could Fill 5 Football Fields 5 Stories Deep
Sep 10 2024 // Hinano Rodrigues remembers being 4 or 5 years old, carrying a bucket across a highway to the ocean in the Maui community where he still lives. At dawn, he would accompany his grandmother to a reef at low tide, where she...
Tropical Storm Francine Strengthens, Spurring Oil Shutdowns
Sep 9 2024 // Tropical Storm Francine strengthened as it moved north in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting oil drillers to evacuate crews and halt some offshore crude production, while the US Coast Guard warned shippers of approaching...
Typhoon Yagi Kills 14 in Vietnam as Officials Warn of Heavy Rain, Flooding
Sep 9 2024 // At least 14 people have died and 176 others injured in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi slammed the country’s north, state media said Sunday, as officials warned of heavy downpours despite its waning power. Described by...
California Policyholders May Be On the Hook for Wildfire Losses
Sep 9 2024 // California homeowners could be required to pay a surcharge if the state’s insurer of last resort is unable to cover losses from a catastrophic wildfire. The California Department of Insurance sent a bulletin to...
Fast-Growing California Wildfire Threatening 35,000 Structures
Sep 9 2024 // A fast-growing wildfire in Southern California, has burned 27 square miles, forcing thousands to evacuate had is putting roughly 35,000 homes and buildings at risk. The Line fire near San Bernardino more than quadrupled in...
Hertz Tower Demolition Marks End of Hurricane-Damaged Landmark in Lake Charles
Sep 9 2024 // BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An abandoned, 22-story building in Lake Charles, Louisiana — once an icon in the city that became a symbol of destruction from hurricanes Laura and Delta — was imploded Saturday after sitting...
Crews Slow Progress of Sierra Wildfire, But Evacuations Orders Remain
Sep 5 2024 // Firefighters battling a California wildfire that has burned through more than 5 square miles of the high Sierra made significant progress slowing its growth on Wednesday, but hundreds of residents whose homes are...
CSU Forecasters Predict Quiet Hurricane Activity to Start September
Sep 4 2024 // The first two weeks of September are expected to be quiet for Atlantic hurricane activity, according to experts at Colorado State University. The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project, which has been forecasting the Atlantic...
Natural Disasters to Cause $151 Billion in Annual Insurer Losses
Sep 4 2024 // Urban expansion, property exposure and climate change could fuel a 40% increase in annual natural-catastrophe losses for the global insurance industry, according to a new report. The annual loss could rise to $151 billion...
Judge to Ask Hawaii Supreme Court About Barriers to $4B Wildfire Settlement
Sep 4 2024 // The Hawaii Supreme Court will be asked to weigh in on an issue that threatens to thwart a $4 billion settlement in last year’s devastating Maui wildfires. Judge Peter Cahill on Maui agreed to ask the state high court...
Canada’s 10 Worst Natural Disasters Totaled C$30 Billion in Annual Insured Losses
Sep 3 2024 // Insured losses have surged in the past decade as climate change in Canada sparks wildfires, intense hailstorms and thunderstorms with severe flooding in major cities. Insured losses from natural disasters averaged C$2.2...
Western States Top Wildfire Risk Scores in New Analysis
Sep 3 2024 // California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Arizona are the states most at risk for wildfires, earning an “F” rating, according to a new analysis by Guidewire detailing wildfire risk in the U.S. at local,...
Hurricane Debby Claims Already Two-Thirds of Idalia Claims in Florida, as Insurance Market Strengthens, Regulator Says
Sep 2 2024 // The number of Florida claims from Hurricane Debby, filed within 10 days of the storm, stood at almost two-thirds of the number of claims filed from Hurricane Idalia in a three-month period. Debby claims by Aug. 16 had...
Severe Storms (Mostly in US) Account for 70% of Global Insured Natural Disaster Losses
Sep 2 2024 // Global insured losses from natural catastrophes totaled US$60 billion during the first half of 2024, or 62% above the 10-year average, according to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re. Severe thunderstorms (mainly in the...
Report: 2.6M Homes at Moderate to Very High Risk of Wildfire
Sep 2 2024 // More than 2.6 million homes across 14 states with a total reconstruction cost of $1.3 trillion are at moderate to very high risk of wildfire damage during the 2024 wildfire season, the 2024 CoreLogic Wildfire Risk Report...
Climate Change Intensified Typhoon Shanshan, Study Says
Aug 30 2024 // Typhoon Shanshan, which struck southern Japan this week with heavy rain and strong winds, was likely intensified by climate change, according to a study from Imperial College London. Researchers with the university teased...
Southern California Edison Seeks to Recover $1.6B of Wildfire-Related Losses
Aug 29 2024 // Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International said on Thursday it was seeking approval for a settlement agreement to recover nearly 60% of losses related to wildfires and mudslides in 2017 and...
