Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Re/Insurers Must Respond to Evolving Terrorist Risk with Relevant Products: JLT

Mar 25 2016 // The re/insurance industry is failing to respond to the growing global terrorist threat with products that meet the needs of their clients, according to a report published by JLT Re and JLT Specialty Ltd. Indeed, evidence...

Hailstorms Pummel North Texas, Again

Mar 24 2016 // Large hail and strong winds caused considerable damage in heavily populated areas of north Texas overnight on March 23. It was the second time just over a week that the area has been pummeled by hail. Car windows and sky...

Officials: Mississippi Flood Damage Most Widespread Since Hurricane Katrina

Mar 24 2016 // Mississippi officials say the damage from floods this month is the most widespread the state has had since Hurricane Katrina. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson tells The Clarion-Ledger federal...

Farmers CEO Remembers Joplin Tornado at California Gala

Mar 21 2016 // Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers Insurance, turned what could have been a mere acceptance speech into a lesson-filled personal account of his first time seeing the devastation wreaked by the May 2011 tornado in Joplin,...

Dry, Windy Weather in North Carolina Increasing Mountain Wildfires

Mar 21 2016 // Windy and dry conditions are causing an increase in the number of wildfires in the North Carolina mountains. Media outlets report that a 60-acre fire near Bearwallow Mountain southeast of Asheville that firefighters have...

Alabama to Host Scientific Research Study of Southern Tornadoes

Mar 21 2016 // Weather researchers say they expect about 40 scientists from around the nation to participate in “VORTEX Southeast,” an upcoming study of the unique characteristics of tornadoes that develop in the South. Like...

Meteorologists Pioneer Method of Predicting Tornadoes Weeks in Advance

Mar 21 2016 // Researchers say they’ve come up with a way to predict the likelihood of tornadoes two or three weeks in advance – a step toward better warnings of storms that kill an average of 80 Americans each year. Victor...

Midwest Pounded by Tornado-Packing Storms

Mar 18 2016 // The National Weather Service confirmed that on tornadoes touched down this week in parts of eastern Iowa that also endured heavy rain and hail as large as golf balls. Tornadoes also touched down at least five times in...

North Texas Commuters Hit with Damaging Hailstorms

Mar 17 2016 // Severe thunderstorms moved in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth area this morning producing heavy rain, strong winds and hail as large as baseballs, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reported. Several businesses...

NWS Confirms F-1 Tornado Caused Damage in Southwest Ohio

Mar 17 2016 // The National Weather Service confirms a tornado caused damage in a southwest Ohio village near Dayton. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the March 14 tornado. The National Weather Service says the EF-1...

Weather Service Assessing Possible Tornado Damage in Arkansas

Mar 15 2016 // The National Weather Service is sending investigators to assess damage and determine if tornadoes touched down in Arkansas as a fast-moving storm system brought rain and hail across the state. Meteorologist Michael Brown...

Earthquakes Hit South Central Alaska, Aleutians

Mar 15 2016 // A magnitude 4.5 earthquake that hit south-central Alaskawas felt in the state’s largest city, Anchorage, and was one of several recent quakes in the area. The National Tsunami Warning Center says the quake hit at...

Texas Seeks Comments on Windstorm Inspection Rule

Mar 10 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance is seeking comments on an informal working draft of amendments that would update the rule relating to items not requiring inspection for the purposes of windstorm and hail insurance...

Ironshore Bolsters War & Terrorism Offering in Asia Pacific with Hill Appointment

Mar 9 2016 // Ironshore International announces that James W. Hill has been named underwriting manager of Terrorism, Political Violence and War for the Asia Pacific region. Hill, who joins Ironshore from Willis Ltd., will be based in...

Earthquake Response/Wastewater Reduction Plan for Central Oklahoma Unveiled

Mar 8 2016 // The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s (OCC) Oil and Gas Conservation Division (OGCD), in response to the risk of triggered earthquakes, announced actions to further reduce the amount of oil and gas wastewater...

Farm Losses From Virginia Tornadoes Climbing

Mar 7 2016 // Farm losses from a series of tornadoes that battered Virginia last month stand at $1.6 million and counting. The Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. says it has received 126 claims since the twisters swirled from...

Meteorologists Can Predict Tornadoes Weeks in Advance

Mar 7 2016 // Researchers say they’ve come up with a way to predict the likelihood of tornadoes two or three weeks in advance — a step toward better warnings of storms that kill an average of 80 Americans each year. Victor...

Gulf Coast Mangled by Swath of Tornadoes

Mar 7 2016 // The National Weather Service on Feb. 26 updated to 13 the number of tornadoes that hit Louisiana on Feb. 23, including four tornadoes — one an EF-3 — that were responsible for extreme damage in Convent and...

U.S. Treasury Seeks Terrorism Data from Insurers

Mar 4 2016 // The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is requesting that insurers voluntarily submit insurance data regarding their participation in the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP). The...

EF2 Tornado Strikes Alabama, Damages at Least 12 Homes

Mar 4 2016 // Forecasters say a tornado that severely damaged homes and trees in a Birmingham, Ala., suburb has been determined as an EF2, with winds of between 120 and 125 mph. National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Holmes told...