Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force Readies for Earthquake
Mar 6 2009 // Airplanes and crews from Alaska’s Elmendorf Air Force have temporarily moved to southern New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base after warnings of a possible eruption of a volcano. The 3rd Wing from Elmendorf,...
Homeland Chief Orders Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery Review
Feb 26 2009 // In one of her first moves as Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano has ordered a fresh review of hurricane recovery efforts in the gulf coast 31/2 years after two killer hurricanes swept ashore. In testimony...
Estimate of Damage From Georgia Tornadoes Upped to $35 Million
Feb 25 2009 // The damage estimate from last week’s tornadoes is now more than $35 million based on new observations in southwest Georgia by the state insurance commissioner. Commissioner John Oxendine said after a tour that at...
More Earthquakes Rattle New Jersey
Feb 19 2009 // For the third time in three weeks, a small earthquake has rattled an area of north-central New Jersey. No damage or injuries were reported from the 2.3 magnitude quake, which was recorded shortly before 1:42 a.m....
Post-Tornado Emergency Ruling Aims to Bring Adjusters to Oklahoma
Feb 17 2009 // Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland declared a state of emergency following the recent deadly tornadoes and severe weather in her state. The declaration enables emergency claims adjusters to be licensed temporarily...
Texas Lawmakers Outline Hurricane Mitigation Recommendations
Feb 13 2009 // The state of Texas should require certain businesses like gas stations and nursing homes to have backup power generators to avoid the massive disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike, according to recommendations released by a...
Ike Vendors Still Waiting for Texas to Pay Hurricane Response Bills
Feb 5 2009 // The state of Texas has accrued $134 million in unpaid bills from emergency response to Hurricane Ike – and vendors want their money. Jack Colley, the state’s director of emergency management, told the state...
Earthquake Reveals Cracks in Washington Alert System
Feb 4 2009 // When an earthquake larger than magnitude 3 strikes the Northwest, an automated system is supposed to page University of Washington seismologists and notify emergency managers. But that’s not what happened on Jan. 30,...
Third Earthquake Recorded In Southeastern Oklahoma
Feb 4 2009 // For the third time in less than a week a small earthquake has been recorded in Oklahoma, but geological experts say these occurrences are not uncommon or cause for alarm. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 3.2...
Recession, Credit Crisis Stall Louisiana’s Hurricane Recovery Bonds
Feb 2 2009 // The U.S. recession and credit crisis have stalled a financing program created to help Louisiana recover from 2005’s devastating hurricanes, the southern state’s secretary for economic development told...
Earthquake Reported in Central Oklahoma
Jan 29 2009 // The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting an earthquake southwest of Oklahoma City. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.4 and no injuries or damage were reported. The U.S.G.S. say the earthquake was felt about 5:19...
Small Earthquakes Reported in Northeast Arkansas
Jan 28 2009 // A series of small earthquakes occurred Jan. 26 in northeast Arkansas. The U.S. Geological Survey said three quakes of magnitudes ranging from 2 to 2.8 occurred between 1 a.m. and 5:09 a.m. a few miles east of Walnut Ridge...
Study: Southern California Could be Overdue for Earthquake
Jan 28 2009 // Southern California could be overdue for a powerful earthquake along the notorious San Andreas fault line, according to a new study. New research to be published and carried out by scientists at the University of...
Hiscox Comments on Renewals, Investments, Currency, Hurricanes
Jan 27 2009 // Bermuda-based Hiscox Ltd. has issued a summary of the January renewals, its expected investment returns and the effect of currency fluctuations, as well as its hurricane loss estimates. Hiscox said it has “seen good...
Scientist: Fault Puts East Arkansas at Earthquake Risk
Jan 23 2009 // A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake in the cotton fields of the upper South with an epicenter near a natural gas pipeline, a scientist said. Haydar Al-Shukri, the director...
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...
