Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wide Tornado Cuts a Swath Through West Iowa Town
Apr 11 2011 // A large tornado flattened a grain elevator and destroyed homes and buildings on its weekend rampage through the small western Iowa town of Mapleton. Authorities reported no serious injuries. “It was huge, just...
Tokyo Rethinking Its Earthquake Plan After Japan Disaster
Apr 11 2011 // More than 10,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands injured, nearly one million buildings destroyed, millions forced to evacuate and a fifth of Japan’s economy wiped out. That’s the scenario forecast if a huge...
Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast Coast
Apr 7 2011 // Another Strong Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Ruined Northeast Coast A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook the northeast of Japan late on Thursday, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast already devastated by...
Wildfire Danger Critical in Oklahoma, Texas
Apr 7 2011 // Bulldozers and airplanes have been put on alert as Texas faces an increased threat for wildfires. In Oklahoma, that state has experienced the driest four month stretch the Dust Bowl and thousands of acres have burned in...
‘Above Average’ 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast
Apr 7 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be above average with nine hurricanes, five of them major, with a more than 70 percent chance that at least one of them will hit the U.S. coastline, Colorado State University...
Aon Benfield Launches Cyprus Earthquake Model
Apr 7 2011 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp., has launched an earthquake model for the island of Cyprus, following requests from insurers seeking “to increase their understanding...
XL’s Japan Quake/Tsunami Loss Estimates – $190 to $290 Million
Apr 5 2011 // XL Group plc announced that its preliminary net loss estimates for the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, pretax and net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, “range from approximately $190 million...
Calif Tsunami Damage Estimate Increases
Apr 5 2011 // California’s damage estimate from last month’s tsunami has increased. California Emergency Management Agency spokesman Brad Alexander said the most recent damage estimate was $48 million, $4 million more than a...
More Than 300 Homes Evacuated in Colorado Wildfire
Apr 4 2011 // Strong winds fueled a wildfire in canyon country west of Fort Collins, Colo., forcing the evacuation of 335 homes, authorities said April 3. There have been no reports of any injuries or damage to any of the dwellings, but...
Calif. Senators Introduce National Earthquake Legislation
Apr 4 2011 // U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both D-Calif., introduced legislation to lower the cost of earthquake insurance for Californians and individuals who purchase coverage from a nonprofit, state-run...
Hurricane Protection
Apr 4 2011 // The Army Corps of Engineers said it will meet its deadline to greatly improve the New Orleans area’s hurricane-protection system by the start of the 2011 storm season. The deadline to have New Orleans ready for a...
Hurricane Names Retired
Apr 4 2011 // Hurricanes Igor and Tomas are no longer a threat. The World Meteorological Organization has retired the two names from those used in 2010 because of the damage they caused. Names are retired from time to time to avoid...
AIR Releases New Northwest Asia-Pacific Area Wide Typhoon Model
Mar 31 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has released an enhanced typhoon model for the Northwest Pacific Basin. AIR said the “model, which was released in Version 12.5 of AIR’s CLASIC/2™ and CATRADER®...
Hawaii May Drain Hurricane Funds
Mar 29 2011 // Hawaii is running out of time to find an estimated $232 million needed to balance the budget over the next three months, leading Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s administration to consider emptying the state’s hurricane...
U.S. Coastlines Should Be Prepared for Potential Tsunamis
Mar 23 2011 // In the wake of Japan’s tsunami disaster, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is urging Americans who live and vacation at the coast to take the threat of tsunamis seriously. With more coastline...
Igor, Tomas Retired as Hurricane Names
Mar 23 2011 // Hurricanes Igor and Tomas are no longer a threat. The World Meteorological Organization has retired the two names from those used in 2010 because of the damage they caused. Names are retired from time to time to avoid...
Munich Re Estimates Japan Quake, Tsunami Claims over $2 Billion
Mar 23 2011 // Munich Re announced that it has estimated its claims burden from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan at around €1.5 billion [$2.128 billion], after retrocession and before tax. As a result Munich Re said its...
Hannover Re Estimates Japan Quake, Tsunami Losses at $355 Million
Mar 23 2011 // Hannover Re announced that, “based on its analysis of individual treaties,” its loss expenditure from the Japan earthquake is expected to be around €250 million [$355 million] after retrocessions and before...
Japan Govt. Estimates Quake, Tsunami Damages at $185 to $308 Billion
Mar 23 2011 // The Japanese government on Wednesday estimated the direct damage from a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck the country’s northeast this month at 16-25 trillion yen ($185-$308 billion), making it the...
