Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: 4.5 Million Homes in 13 States at Extreme Wildfire Risk
Jun 10 2015 // A report issued today shows 4.5 million U.S. homes at high or extreme risk of wildfire as the multi-year drought continues. The report’s author said the worsening drought means 2015 has the potential to be one of the...
Miami Researchers Studying Hurricanes by Creating On-Demand Storms
Jun 10 2015 // Researchers trying to figure out what makes some hurricanes strengthen into catastrophic monsters have a new lab that allows them to generate tropical storm conditions with the flip of a switch. The lab is at the...
Nevada Tornado Damages Businesses and Homes
Jun 8 2015 // A tornado ripped through the Nevada town of Hawthorne on Friday afternoon, damaging homes and businesses, causing scattered power outages and temporarily shutting down a highway, authorities said. No injuries were...
2 Years After Tornado, Oklahoma’s Moore Rebuilding; View Video
Jun 5 2015 // Two years ago on May 20, an EF 5 tornado touched down in Moore, Oklahoma, 4.4 miles west of Newcastle. The powerful twister, with wind speeds reaching 210 miles per hour, cleared a path of destruction stretching 14 miles...
UPDATE: Hurricane Blanca Remains on Course for Baja California
Jun 5 2015 // The latest bulletin from the National Hurricane Center in Miami describes Blanca as a “large hurricane,” with hurricane force winds extending “outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Highlights Improvements Made Since 2011
Jun 5 2015 // Texas windstorm insurer of last resort for coastal counties has released its annual report, which it says shows the practices and procedures of the organization have improved greatly since 2011. That was the year the Texas...
UPDATE: Hurricane Blanca Weakens off Mexico Coast; Bound for Baja Resorts
Jun 4 2015 // Hurricane Blanca weakened slightly off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Thursday but could restrengthen as it continues moving toward tourist resorts at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, the U.S. National...
May U.S. Storm, Tornado Claims over $1Bn: Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting
Jun 4 2015 // Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development team, has released its latest Global Catastrophe Recap report for the month of May. The report highlights the “powerful thunderstorms” that...
Tornado Caused $18.6M in Damage at Wisconsin Campus
Jun 3 2015 // A final tally shows a tornado that struck the University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus nearly a year ago caused $18.6 million in damage. The school released the final damage numbers on June 2. The tornado hit the campus...
Hurricane Blanca Grows off Mexico Coast; Headed for Tip of Baja
Jun 3 2015 // Hurricane Blanca strengthened to a category 4 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Wednesday and was expected to bear down on a tourist hub at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, the U.S. National...
California Assembly Advances Earthquake Safety Bills
Jun 3 2015 // The California Assembly is advancing a pair of bills designed to help buildings withstand earthquakes. The legislation approved unanimously this week would expand financial incentives for seismic retrofits. AB428 would...
Florida Gun Owners Without Permits Get Exemption for Hurricanes
Jun 3 2015 // Florida gun owners who don’t have a concealed weapons permit can now take their firearms with them while fleeing a hurricane. Not that it’s been a big problem in Florida in the past. No one can cite an example...
Pacific Storms Rage While Atlantic Hurricane Season Opens Quietly
Jun 2 2015 // The Atlantic hurricane season opened with empty seas and low expectations as two storms raged off the western coast of Mexico, where they will almost certainly stay. Hurricane Andres, which formed last week and grew into a...
NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter Planes Get $42 million Upgrade
Jun 2 2015 // The hurricane planes known affectionately as “Miss Piggy” and “Kermit” are getting new Rolls-Royce engines, new wings and better radar. Every hurricane season for nearly four decades, the two...
Worried About Dying from Surgery, Hurricane, Plane Crash? Check Out the Odds
Jun 1 2015 // Americans who worry about dying worry about the wrong things. That’s according to the National Safety Council, which kicked off National Safety Month by unveiling its annual list of Americans’ “Odds of...
Small Earthquake Rattles Southern California Desert
Jun 1 2015 // The U.S. Geological Survey says a light earthquake struck Southern California on Sunday morning. The magnitude 4.1 quake occurred at 6:02 a.m. Sunday at a depth of about 7 miles. The quake was located about 7 miles...
Effective Wildfire Prevention Hampered by Liability, Weather, Development
Jun 1 2015 // Forest managers would prefer to use prescribed burns every few years to help prevent costly wildfires and rebuild unhealthy ecosystems, but hurdles like staffing, budget, liability and new development hinder them, a new...
The Rock Won’t Save You From Earthquakes; Retrofitting Might
May 29 2015 // It has been a big week for earthquake news in California. Hollywood gave us “San Andreas,” a thrill a minute dystopian drama starring Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) as a heroic flying firefighter and Paul Giamatti...
South Dakota Requests Disaster Declaration for Delmont Tornado
May 29 2015 // Gov. Dennis Daugaard has requested a presidential disaster declaration to help South Dakotans whose homes and businesses were damaged by the severe storm and tornado May 10 in Douglas and Charles Mix counties. The tornado...
Is This the End of Active Hurricane Era?
May 29 2015 // Colorado State University’s annual benchmark forecast for Atlantic hurricanes is unlikely to change significantly when it is updated June 1, according to CSU hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach, as the increasing...
