Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Repairs Must Follow Wind Code Rules
Jan 23 2009 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is instructing agents who have clients with residential dwellings insured under the TWIA waiver program that all repairs must be done to the current catastrophe area wind code...
West Tennessee Feels Small Earthquake But No Damages Reported
Jan 20 2009 // Earthquake researchers say a small quake occurred last Friday in West Tennessee but no damages from it were reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 40 miles north of Memphis and measured a...
S&P: Florida Hurricane Fund, Citizens, Guaranty Fund Ratings to Negative
Jan 15 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised the outlook to negative from stable on Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (AA-), Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (A+), and Florida Insurance Guaranty Association...
Work on Hurricane Protection System in Louisiana Begins
Jan 15 2009 // Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that the state and parish are breaking ground on a three-mile, $6.9 million stretch of the Morganza to-the-Gulf Hurricane Protection System in Chauvin. This project is designed to...
Minnesota Family Blames Poor Construction, Not Tornado, for Death
Jan 13 2009 // The family of a 10-year-old girl who died in a 2006 tornado in Rogers is blaming a homebuilder for the girl’s death. In a wrongful death lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court, the family of Jaymi Wendt claims...
Windstorm Fund a Leading Issue With Lawmakers at Texas Capitol
Jan 12 2009 // Hurricane Ike was the big storm Texas officials feared would hit the coast – and the state’s way of paying for it afterward. When lawmakers convene Jan. 13, they’ll face the financial devastation left by...
California Wildfires May Take Longer to Settle
Jan 11 2009 // Industry analysts are predicting insured losses from the Freeway Complex, Sayre and Tea Fires that burned Southern California in mid-November will range from $600 million to $800 million, as of estimates gathered in early...
Group Targets Hurricane Products That Don’t Meet Florida Code
Jan 11 2009 // A new consumer group in Florida is promising to track down products that are touted as hurricane protection but fail to meet state safety standards. Bill Feeley, president of the International Hurricane Protection...
California Hosts Insurance Recovery Forum for Wildfire Survivors
Jan 9 2009 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is hosting town hall-style Insurance Recovery Forums for survivors of the November 2008 wildfires. The first of such town hall meetings was held Jan. 8 in Sylmar, Calif....
AIR Worldwide Analyzes Recent Earthquakes in Indonesia
Jan 7 2009 // According to catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide, a series of strong earthquakes shook the West Papua province of Indonesia this past weekend. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the initial quake measured...
Study: California Earthquake Would Accelerate US Mortgage Meltdown
Jan 6 2009 // In light of current economic conditions, a major catastrophe such as an earthquake in California would bring new misery to both U.S. and international financiers, according to an analysis released by Impact Forecasting...
Gusts Blow in Colorado’s 4th Most Expensive Windstorm, Damage Estimated at $7M
Jan 5 2009 // Some Colorado residents spent the New Year making repairs and calling their insurance companies after strong winds pounded the Front Range, Colorado Springs, the Eastern Plains and Southern Wyoming on Dec. 30, 2008. A...
Group Tackles Hurricane Products That Don’t Meet Florida Code
Dec 23 2008 // Bill Feeley, president of the International Hurricane Protection Association (IHPA), announced the formation of the Consumer Safety Task Force for Hurricane Protection Products, intended to act in unison with the Florida...
A.M. Best Restores Ratings of Insurers Tied to Florida Hurricane Fund
Dec 19 2008 // Following the completion of the 2008 hurricane season, A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review and affirmed several insurers’ ratings it had issued in October when there was concern over the insurers’...
Farmers Insurance Claims California County Contributed to Wildfire Damage
Dec 19 2008 // The giant Farmers Insurance Group blames Santa Cruz County for contributing to the spread of the summertime Trabing wildfire, which destroyed dozens of homes. Farmers filed $3 million worth of claims saying the county...
South Carolina Coastal Residents Feel Effects of Mini-Earthquake
Dec 18 2008 // A weak earthquake shook parts of the South Carolina coast Tuesday, tipping over people’s Christmas trees, knocking pictures off walls and causing minor injuries. The temblor with a preliminary magnitude of 3.6 was...
Forecast Pioneer Clark Says Short-Term Hurricane Models Overstate Losses
Dec 17 2008 // A new report finds that hurricane risk models designed to predict insured losses in the U.S. from Atlantic hurricanes for the five-year period ending in 2010, significantly overestimated these losses for the cumulative...
Colo. Forecasters Expect Busy 2009 Hurricane Season
Dec 16 2008 // Hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University on Wednesday predicted above-average activity in the Atlantic next year: 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes — three major. The 50-year average is 9.6 named...
FEMA Extends Deadline to Ask For Hurricane Help in Texas
Dec 15 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving Texas victims of Hurricane Ike an extra 29 days to ask for financial help. FEMA extended the application deadline for homeowners, renters and business owners to Jan....
California Earthquake Authority Selects Broker Team for Reinsurance Program
Dec 12 2008 // The California Earthquake Authority Governing Board today approved a team of reinsurance intermediaries to work on the CEA’s behalf to meet its reinsurance needs. AON Benfield will act as lead intermediary, with Guy...
