Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
At least 8 Killed as Typhoon Wipha Sideswipes Tokyo; Moves on
Oct 16 2013 // Eight people were killed and over 30 missing, with nearly 20,000 people ordered to evacuate and hundreds of flights cancelled as Typhoon Wipha pummeled the Tokyo region on Wednesday, leaving piles of wreckage on one small...
Typhoon WiphaThreatens Japan; Precautions at Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Oct 15 2013 // A once-in-a-decade typhoon threatened Japan on Tuesday, disrupting travel and shipping and forcing precautions to be taken at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. Typhoon Wipha is moving across the Pacific straight...
Hurricane-Proof Church a Safe Haven on Gulf Coast
Oct 15 2013 // God is a mighty fortress, the old hymn goes, and the same could be said for Romar Beach Baptist Church. With concrete walls more than a foot thick and pilings driven deep into bedrock, the waterfront church just yards from...
AIR Worldwide Analyzes Typhoon Nari as it Crosses the Philippines
Oct 15 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide Typhoon Nari, aka Santi, made landfall in the Philippines, “as of 18:50 October 11, 2013 UTC (2:50 October 12, 2013 PHT; 14:50 October 11, 2013 EDT), just south of...
20 Tornadoes Recorded in Illinois so Far This Year
Oct 11 2013 // Illinois has received only a third of the number of tornadoes typically recorded over the course of a year, weather officials said. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports there have been 20 reports of tornadoes...
Number of Homes at Risk of Wildfire in Western States Jumps 62%: CoreLogic
Oct 11 2013 // The number of homes at risk from wildfires in western U.S. states jumped 62 percent in the past year as more properties were developed in fire-prone areas, according to a report released on Thursday. About 1.2 million...
Report: $189B in Western U.S. Properties High Wildfire Potential
Oct 10 2013 // Despite a little touch of some wetter and cooler weather, the 2013 wildfire season isn’t over, and the Western states in particular should be prepared for a few more potentially active months. That’s according...
Weakened Typhoon Danas in Korea Strait, Sea of Japan: AIR Worldwide
Oct 9 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, after pounding Okinawa with the outer reaches of its 184 km/h [114 mph] winds Monday evening local time, Typhoon Danas has weakened to tropical storm strength and it is...
Tsunami Warning Centers in Alaska, Hawaii Open Despite Shutdown
Oct 7 2013 // Despite the partial government shutdown, Americans have a full team of scientists tracking every possibility for an earthquake-triggered tsunami. The nation’s two tsunami warning centers remain fully staffed and...
As Many as 9 Tornadoes Reported in Nebraska, Iowa
Oct 7 2013 // As many as nine tornadoes – at least one rated a powerful EF3 – touched down across northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa as a storm cell moved over the region in the evening on Oct. 4, causing structural...
Ironshore Increases Global Terrorism Coverage Capacity
Oct 7 2013 // Ironshore Inc. announced that its global Terrorism & Sabotage program to protect against diverse risk exposure worldwide has increased capacity to up to U.S. $300 million. The insurance coverages are underwritten by...
China Evacuates 400,000 People Ahead of Typhoon
Oct 7 2013 // Hundreds of thousands of people in southeast China were evacuated and fishing vessels called back to shore on Sunday because of an approaching typhoon, authorities said. Typhoon Fitow was expected to make landfall early...
Tropical Storm Karen Downgraded Before Landfall
Oct 6 2013 // Tropical Storm Karen was downgraded to a depression and storm warnings were discontinued Saturday night as the weather system churned in the Gulf of Mexico before heading toward landfall in northern Florida. Karen’s...
Gulf Coast Braces for Flooding from Tropical Storm Karen
Oct 3 2013 // Tropical Storm Karen may bring more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain, isolated tornadoes and power outages to the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it is expected to go ashore over the weekend, forecasters said. Karen, with top...
Tropical Storm Karen Forms in Gulf; Hurricane Watch in Effect
Oct 3 2013 // Tropical storm Karen, the 11th named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, has formed over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin. Karen is packing maximum...
New Law: New York Considers First Tornado Warning System
Oct 2 2013 // New York is looking into creating its first statewide early warning system for tornadoes. A bill signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo directs a review into the feasibility of installing a system. The system could involve...
Swarm Of Earthquakes Shake Yellowstone
Sep 24 2013 // Until recently, Bob Smith had never witnessed two simultaneous earthquake swarms in his 53 years of monitoring seismic activity in and around the Yellowstone Caldera. Now, Smith, a University of Utah geophysics professor,...
Alberta Floods Canada’s Costliest Natural Disaster
Sep 24 2013 // The massive floods that devastated swaths of southern Alberta in June are estimated to be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada pegging the property damage at C$1.7 billion...
Typhoon Usagi Weakens before Hitting China Coast: AIR Worldwide
Sep 23 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Severe Typhoon Usagi, the 19th named storm to form in the Northwest Pacific this year, “made landfall near the city of Shanwei (150 kilometers [94 miles]...
Mass. Diocese Agrees to $60M Settlement Over Tornado Damages
Sep 23 2013 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has agreed to a $60 million settlement with its insurer for damage done to a parochial high school and other church property by a tornado two years ago. The resolution with insurer...
