Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
FBI Calls Boston Marathon Bombings ‘Potential’ Terrorist Act
Apr 15 2013 // The FBI said the investigation of the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon is a “criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation.” The FBI, with Special Agent Richard...
Experts: 1953 Indiana Tornado Damage Would Be Worse Today
Apr 11 2013 // A deadly tornado that swept through east central Indiana 60 years ago could cause much more destruction if it swept through today because of suburban sprawl. The April 9, 1953, twister originated in Illinois and ended near...
Alabama Museum Exhibit Recalls 2011 Tornadoes
Apr 11 2013 // An oral history of the tornadoes that devastated Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area on April 27, 2011, will be exhibited later this month at the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum. The exhibit,...
2013 Hurricane Prediction: 72% Chance on East Coast; 48% for Florida
Apr 10 2013 // The Colorado State University team is predicting an above-average 2013 Atlantic basin hurricane season with 18 named storms and a 72 percent chance one will make landfall somewhere along the entire Eastern seaboard. Nine...
Houma, Louisiana Floodgate to Be Ready for Hurricane Season
Apr 10 2013 // The flow of the Houma Navigation Canal in Louisiana completely stopped recently for the first time in the waterway’s 50-year existence. The door of the Bubba Dove Floodgate was connected and fully closed as part of...
Hurricane Center Learns Lesson from Sandy; Changes Warnings
Apr 8 2013 // Responding to criticism after Superstorm Sandy, the National Hurricane Center says it will change the way it warns people about tropical storms that morph into something else. At the height of Sandy, as the hurricane...
Report Praises Response To Deadly Colorado Wildfire
Apr 4 2013 // A review of the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history released Wednesday found much to praise and few problems in the way Colorado Springs agencies responded. Investigators say the June 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire on...
Contractor Sued Over Joplin Tornado Waste
Apr 3 2013 // Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is suing a southwest Missouri company for allegedly dumping tornado waste from Joplin into an abandoned mine shaft. Koster on April 1 announced the suit against Bryan Weldon and...
April is Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawaii
Apr 3 2013 // Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie named April 2013 Tsunami Awareness Month. Abercrombie held a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday to sign the proclamation. Several agencies participated in the ceremony, including the...
Forecaster Gray Sees Active Hurricane Season Ahead
Apr 3 2013 // Forecaster William Gray said he expects a very active hurricane season, but he’s not yet giving likely numbers of named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes. Gray told hundreds of people at the National Hurricane...
Georgia Residents Recall Tornado of 40 Years Ago
Apr 3 2013 // Like many people who lived in Athens, Georgia at the time, Anne Shepherd clearly remembers March 31, 1973 — the day the tornado hit. Shepherd, owner of downtown’s Chick Music store, had gone out to a house on North...
ImpactWeather: Hurricanes in 2013 Will Be More Severe Than in 2012
Mar 29 2013 // Houston-based ImpactWeather predicts that 2013 will bring a series of hurricanes more severe than 2012. In an announcement released by the company, Senior ImpactWeather Meteorologist Chris Hebert provided the following...
Loss from Tennessee Wildfire Estimated at $12 MIllion
Mar 29 2013 // Sevier County, Tennessee authorities estimate the loss in a wildfire earlier this month at about $12 million. The Mountain Press reported the figure includes only the value of the cabins destroyed or damaged in the March...
Earthquake Rattles Central Taiwan; Causes Minor Damage: AIR Worldwide
Mar 29 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports that a “magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck central Taiwan on March 27, 2013, at 10:03 a.m. local time (02:03:20 UTC). With its epicenter located at 23.840° North latitude...
Tsunami Preparedness Week in Alaska
Mar 27 2013 // Gov. Sean Parnell declared this Tsunami Preparedness Week in Alaska. Parnell, in his proclamation, says Alaska’s vast coastline is home to many communities that are vulnerable to tsunamis. He says the state also...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Board: No Receivership at This Time
Mar 26 2013 // Numerous representatives from Texas coastal counties, cities and business organizations on March 25 spoke before the board of the state’s insurer of last resort urging them to oppose the proposal by state regulators...
Q&A: Congressional Politics and Prospects for Terrorism Insurance Renewal
Mar 26 2013 // The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which was initially enacted in 2002, and amended by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2005 and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007...
Could Global Warming Change Tornado Season?
Mar 25 2013 // With the planet heating up, many scientists seem fairly certain some weather elements like hurricanes and droughts will worsen. But tornadoes have them stumped. As the traditional tornado season nears, scientists have been...
Turning Tornado Debris Into Better Storm Warnings
Mar 22 2013 // Photos and mementoes that were snatched up and blown hundreds of miles during tornados in the south of the United States two years ago are giving researchers new insight on how debris is carried by the storms and how it...
Oregon City Fears Isolation After Major Earthquake
Mar 21 2013 // Officials in Medford say an emerging state plan for recovering from a major earthquake would keep their region isolated from the rest of Oregon for a lengthy period because repair efforts to get traffic moving north-south...
