Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Minor Earthquake Hits Virginia

Oct 4 2010 // The U.S. Geological Survey says a minor earthquake has hit Virginia. Dale Grant, a geophysicist with the USGS, said the magnitude 3.0 earthquake happened at 4:17 p.m. Saturday. Its epicenter was about 20 miles north of...

Rep. Taylor Frustrated Over Failure of Windstorm Coverage Add-On

Oct 4 2010 // In Pascagoula, Miss., on the Gulf Coast, agent Laverne Nelson has to get windstorm coverage for her personal property from the state wind pool. That is because in April her property insurer, MetLife Property &...

CEA Aims to Improve Value, Affordability of Calif. Earthquake Insurance

Oct 4 2010 // Californians might have more reason to retrofit their homes to better withstand a major earthquake, thanks to a recently adopted building code for retrofitting existing structures. The standard, approved in August by the...

CEA Aims to Improve Value, Affordability of Calif. Earthquake Insurance

Sep 27 2010 // Californians might have more reason to retrofit their homes to better withstand a major earthquake, thanks to a recently adopted building code for retrofitting existing structures. The standard, approved in August by the...

Tennessee Warned to Take Earthquake Threat Seriously

Sep 27 2010 // Cities and states have improved their disaster readiness since the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, but authorities must keep stressing emergency preparedness to reduce complacency among the general public, retired...

Tropical Storm Matthew Heading for Central America

Sep 24 2010 // Tropical Storm Matthew formed over the western Caribbean Thursday and was expected to hit Central America as early as Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm, which had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph...

Report: U.S. West Coast Not Prepared for Tsunami

Sep 23 2010 // A report from the National Academies of Science says the West Coast of the United States remains ill-prepared for a tsunami. The seismologist who led the review of tsunami preparedness says an earthquake on the offshore...

Connecticut Officials Ask Obama for Tornado Damage Aid

Sep 23 2010 // Connecticut’s congressional delegation is asking President Obama to reconsider the denial of federal aid for tornado-related damage in Fairfield County. The delegation wrote to Obama on Tuesday saying the Federal...

Danish Regulators Select U.S. RE for Terrorism Risk Capacity Study

Sep 22 2010 // U.S. RE ApS, the European subsidiary of U.S. RE Corporation, international reinsurance brokers, has been selected by Finanstilsynet, the Danish financial Supervisory Authority, to conduct a study of terrorism risk...

Northeast Still Faces High Risk of Major Hurricane Hit This Season

Sep 22 2010 // The Atlantic region can expect one more major hurricane this autumn and the northeast U.S. coast still faces double the average risk of getting hit, Weather Services International (WSI) said Tuesday. The...

Crews Battle Utah Wildfire Sparked at Firing Range

Sep 21 2010 // A wind-stoked fire sparked at a firing range during a National Guard training session blazed across hundreds of acres, as crews rushed to keep it from reaching any more than the estimated four homes that burned on...

Tropical Storm Lisa Forms Near Cape Verde Islands

Sep 21 2010 // The Atlantic hurricane season is in full swing as it continues to produce named storm after named storm. The latest in the parade, which has been forming almost constantly off of the Cape Verde Islands over the last 6...

Hurricane Igor Heads North After Battering Bermuda

Sep 21 2010 // Hurricane Igor barreled north Monday on a path expected to take it near Newfoundland and energy interests off eastern Canada, after battering Bermuda with heavy winds, waves and rain that caused damage but no...

RMS Releases New Japan Typhoon Parametric Industry Loss Index

Sep 21 2010 // Risk Management Solutions has added to its Japan typhoon existing suite of parametric industry loss indices. The program “now includes the insurance industry’s five largest peril regions – U.S. hurricane...

Hurricane Earl Proves Kinder, Gentler Than First Feared

Sep 20 2010 // Risk modelers say Hurricane Earl caused very minimal damage as it passed by the East Coast and agents in the hardest hit area of the United States, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, say they have been receiving few...

Hurricane Karl Bears Down on Mexico’s Gulf Coast

Sep 17 2010 // Hurricane Karl bore down on Mexico’s central Gulf Coast on Friday, threatening to cause flash floods and mudslides, but it appeared to have spared Mexican offshore oil operations from major damage. Karl, which was...

Gulf Hurricane Insurance Bill Unlikely to Pass, Again

Sep 17 2010 // In Pascagoula, Miss., on the Gulf Coast, agent Laverne Nelson has to get windstorm coverage for her personal property from the state wind pool. That is because in April her property insurer, MetLife, dropped her wind...

Hurricane Igor Threatens Bermuda

Sep 16 2010 // Hurricane Igor continues to be a dangerous category four storm, the second most powerful category in the five category Saffir-Simpson scale, and is now predicted to possibly hit Bermuda. Officials in Bermuda reportedly...

Tropical Storm Karl Hits Yucatan, Some Evacuations Ordered

Sep 15 2010 // Tropical Storm Karl hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Wednesday and was expected to head into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening Mexican oil installations and possibly gaining hurricane strength. Mexico’s state-run...

Hurricane Igor Weakened But Still Strong

Sep 15 2010 // Hurricane Igor has weakened a little, but still remains a large and powerful hurricane, the National Hurricane Center reported this morning. The hurricane was about 1,000 miles southeast of Bermuda. It was moving at about...