Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Earthquake Simulator Shakes Alaskan Complacency
Aug 20 2013 // An 8.0 magnitude earthquake sounds like a freight train and feels like the worst-ever air turbulence. Bookshelves tumble. Computers and television sets crash to the floor. It’s a struggle to stay upright. Even a fake...
Cat Bonds Rally with Hurricane Season Advancing: Credit Market Recap
Aug 20 2013 // Gains on catastrophe bonds are poised to exceed returns on speculative-grade company debt by the most since 2008 as the Atlantic hurricane season heads into its fourth month. Notes designed to protect insurers from payouts...
Found Boat in Hawaii May Be Tsunami Debris
Aug 19 2013 // The Department of Land and Natural Resources says a skiff that floated into Oahu’s Kawela Bay may be tsunami debris. KITV-TV reported the 20- to 25-foot skiff discovered Wednesday was covered with barnacles. A state...
Central New Zealand Shaken by M6.5 Earthquake: AIR Analysis
Aug 19 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, homes and roads in central New Zealand were damaged by a M6.5 earthquake on Friday, August 16, at 2:31 p.m. local time (2:31 a.m., UTC), but no serious injuries have...
Zurich Insurance Profit Drops After Natural Disaster Losses
Aug 15 2013 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, the biggest Swiss insurer, said the target for its general insurance business was “challenging” after natural catastrophe losses cut second-quarter profit by 27 percent. Net income...
Tornado Damage Exceeds $30M in Wisconsin
Aug 14 2013 // Officials in the Fox Valley say damage from recent tornadoes exceeds $30 million. The National Weather Service tells WLUK-TV that six tornadoes have been confirmed during the storms. It had previously confirmed five...
Otter Declares Disaster for Idaho Wildfire Areas
Aug 14 2013 // Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has issued a disaster declaration for areas on southern Idaho ravaged in recent weeks by wildfires. The declaration announced Monday specifically targets Elmore County, where two large,...
Atlantic Hurricane Season to Enter Most Active Phase Next Week
Aug 14 2013 // The Atlantic hurricane season is about to enter its most active phase as conditions for the powerful storms improve across the basin. Wind shear that can tear budding storms apart has been decreasing, said Dan Kottlowski,...
Public Meeting on Texas Windstorm Insurance Issues Announced
Aug 13 2013 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced that a public meeting of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association expert panel will be held Aug. 22 from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm in Austin. The purpose of the meeting is to...
California Faces Longer, Tough Wildfire Season
Aug 12 2013 // California truly is the Golden State this summer – golden brown – and that has fire officials worried heading into the peak of the wildfire season. It’s still weeks before the fire-fanning Santa Ana winds usually...
Southern California Wildfire Pushes East, Forces Evacuations
Aug 9 2013 // A California wildfire that doubled in size overnight torched 15 buildings east of Los Angeles, injured at least five people and forced the evacuation of 500 homes in about half a dozen small communities, authorities said...
NOAA Updates Hurricane Forecast
Aug 9 2013 // The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Thursday slightly lowered its forecast for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season but said it still expected “above normal” storm activity this...
Collected Forecasts for 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Aug 9 2013 // The U.S. government climate agency on Thursday slightly lowered its forecast for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, but said it still expected “above normal” storm activity this year. The National Oceanic and...
Oklahoma Insurance Claims from May Tornadoes Top $1 Billion
Aug 8 2013 // Insurance payments from the May tornado outbreak across central Oklahoma have now topped $1 billion, state insurance regulators report. “These numbers are staggering,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John...
Oklahoma Officials Place May 20 Tornado Toll at 25
Aug 7 2013 // The Oklahoma Medical Examiner has increased the toll from the May 20 tornado at Moore after the death of a 90-year-old woman critically injured in the storm. Spokeswoman Amy Elliott said that the death of Kathryn Begay...
S.C. Researchers Unveil New Hurricane Model; Program to Offer Landfall Probability
Aug 7 2013 // As hurricane season approaches its peak, researchers at South Carolina’s Coastal Carolina University unveiled a new hurricane model program named after a massive Category 4 storm that smashed into South Carolina a...
Massachusetts Sees Spike in Hurricane Sandy Title Scams
Aug 5 2013 // The Registry of Motor Vehicles is warning consumers in western Massachusetts to watch out for scammers who sell cars with reconstructed titles from Oregon that mask vehicles damaged during Hurricane Sandy. The RMV says...
Why Scientists Are Causing Earthquakes
Aug 2 2013 // Earthquakes never occur when needed so a team led by Johns Hopkins structural engineers is shaking up a building themselves in the name of science and safety. Using massive moving platforms and an array of sensors and...
University Of Central Oklahoma to Co-Host 2014 Tornado Summit
Aug 1 2013 // The University of Central Oklahoma has been selected as a co-host of the 2014 National Tornado Summit. The summit serves as a forum for national and state experts to meet and recommend new policies to improve emergency...
P/C Industry Faces Challenges If Terrorism Coverage Not Renewed: Fitch
Aug 1 2013 // If Congress fails to renew or makes significant changes to the federal government’s terrorism risk insurance program, some insurers will be forced to significantly alter their underwriting portfolios to reduce...
