Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIR Analyzes Chile Quake: No Tsunami; Minimal Damages Reported
Mar 27 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide’s report on the earthquake that struck central Chile on Sunday night concludes that, although the quake was a strong tremor – magnitude 7.1 – minimal damages are expected,...
Kentucky Lawmakers Working on Tax Break for Tornado Victims
Mar 21 2012 // Leaders of both parties in the Kentucky Legislature are working together to provide sales tax relief to residents of the 21 counties declared disaster areas by President Barack Obama following March 2 tornadoes. Rep. John...
Tornadoes Injured at Least 8 in San Antonio Area
Mar 21 2012 // Officials say at least two tornadoes in the San Antonio area on March 20 damaged about 30 structures and injured at least eight people. Medina County Judge Jim Barden said that four people were hospitalized after the...
Michigan Fire Chief: 207 Homes Damaged by Tornado
Mar 21 2012 // Officials now say 207 homes were damaged in last week’s tornado in Dexter, Mich., and about 20 will need to be demolished. Dexter Area Fire Chief Loren Yates provided the figures on March 19. Officials initially said...
AIR Assessing Damage Picture from Mexico’s Earthquake
Mar 21 2012 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a bulletin analyzing the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck southwestern Mexico yesterday. Dr. Tao Lai, Principal Engineer at AIR Worldwide, explained that the...
Websites Reunite Tornado Victims with Lost Belongings
Mar 20 2012 // There were a yellow football jersey, wrinkled prom photos, canceled checks and a birth certificate. There were wedding photos and pages from a scrapbook that elementary students made for their teacher. When the deadly...
Development Bank Plans Natural Disaster Fund for Latin America
Mar 19 2012 // The Inter-American Development Bank has proposed allowing member countries to tap loans in case they need to respond to natural disasters, the multilateral lender’s president said on Saturday. Luis Alberto Moreno...
Tornado Response
Mar 19 2012 // Branson, Mo., city officials said they were mostly happy with the emergency response to a tornado that hit the tourist city on Feb. 29. Police Chief Kent Crutcher said emergency response was mostly positive in the hours...
Insurance Claims from Recent Tornadoes May Top $1B
Mar 19 2012 // March came in like a very large and powerful lion, spawning severe weather across the Midwest, South and southeastern United States. Insured losses from the tornadoes, hail and high winds that struck in late February and...
Indiana Tornado Mobile Home Deaths
Mar 19 2012 // A family of five in New Pekin, two men in Holton and a Scott County man all were in mobile homes when they died or were fatally injured in southern Indiana tornadoes on March 2. The Courier Journal reported that nearly...
Kentucky Orders Halt to Insurance Cancellations in Tornado-Stricken Areas
Mar 16 2012 // Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an executive order prohibiting insurance companies from canceling policies or changing rates in counties hit by deadly tornadoes. Beshear’s staffers said it was the first time...
Insurance Exec Blasts Florida Inaction on Hurricane Fund, Citizens
Mar 16 2012 // Florida lawmakers have put taxpayers at risk by not reforming the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund or Citizen’s Property Insurance Corp. in advance of the 2012 hurricane season, an insurance executive has...
PERILS Lowers Loss Estimates from Windstorm Joachim to $377 Million
Mar 15 2012 // PERILS, Europe’s catastrophe data provider, has updated its loss report for windstorm Joachim, which occurred from December 15 to 17, 2011 in Western Europe. The second published loss estimate for Joachim is €289...
Catastrophe Frequency, Tornadoes Test Insurers in U.S.: A.M. Best
Mar 15 2012 // According to A.M. Best Co., the frequency of catastrophe weather events represents the “new normal” for the insurance industry. “The insurance industry continues to be tested as catastrophic weather...
Illinois Officials Dispute FEMA Denial of Tornado Aid
Mar 14 2012 // Looking at the destruction in his southern Illinois town, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg couldn’t understand why federal officials turned down a plea to financially help local homeowners. Nearly a hundred homes are now...
Chief: California Wildfires May Signal Busy Season
Mar 14 2012 // Forest fire authorities say a series of a dozen small wildfires over the past two months may herald an active fire season this summer on the California coast. Anthony Escobar, Los Padres National Forest fire chief, said...
Magnitude-3.1 Earthquake Off Oregon Coast
Mar 13 2012 // Seismologists say they’ve detected a magnitude-3.1 earthquake off the Oregon coast. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake occurred at 4:37 a.m. with an epicenter 27 miles west of Newport. There were no...
Branson Officials Mostly Pleased with Tornado Response
Mar 12 2012 // Branson, Mo., city officials said they were mostly happy with the emergency response to a tornado that hit the tourist city in February. City officials met on March 8 to assess the response and tally damage. Police Chief...
Japan Marks One Year Since Earthquake – Tsunami Disaster
Mar 12 2012 // People across Japan prayed and stood in silence on Sunday to remember the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the nation one year ago, killing just over 19,000 people and unleashing the world’s worst nuclear...
Central Texas Wildfire Victims Benefit from $4M in Donations
Mar 8 2012 // Parts of Central Texas devastated by wildfires last year have benefited from more than $4 million in private donations and the help of volunteers who are rebuilding homes. The Austin American-Statesman reports that in...
