Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
3 Months After Tornado, Some in New Hampshire Still Fighting Red Tape
Oct 30 2008 // Three months after a tornado ripped a 50-mile swath through central New Hampshire, some residents still are caught in a swirl of red tape as they fight to rebuild their damaged or destroyed homes and get on with their...
Texas Lawmakers Critical of Federal Response to Hurricane
Oct 28 2008 // Lawmakers in Texas praised the state’s response to Hurricane Ike but some blasted the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at a recent meeting of the state Senate’s Transportation and...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Pool’s Mobile Claim Office Closing Nov. 5
Oct 28 2008 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reported that adjusters have now made contact with all policyholders except those who have recently reported claims. As a result TWIA will close its mobile catastrophe claim...
Hurricane, Investment Losses Cut Into Chubb’s Q3 Profit
Oct 24 2008 // Like many of its property/casualty competitors, Chubb Corp. saw its third quarter profit cut by investment losses and Hurricane Ike but the New Jersey-based insurer still emerged with $264 million in net income, $300...
Haiti Hurricane Damage Estimated at $1 Billion
Oct 23 2008 // The storms that have battered Haiti since August caused nearly $1 billion of damage, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday. “That’s a lot for a country of 8 million people and there’s been a...
Idaho Residents Remember Strong Earthquake
Oct 22 2008 // Holly Seefried was in bed sleeping beside her husband, Bill, at 8:06 a.m. on Oct. 28, 1983, when they awoke to a roar outside their ranch home near Mackay. The noise grew louder by the second. “There was this...
Oregon Proposes Sharing Wildfire Costs
Oct 22 2008 // The only sure things about wildfires is that they will cost more to put out than they used to and that they remain as unpredictable as ever. Hotter, drier summers, rising labor and equipment costs, buildup of forest fuels...
Travelers Takes Q3 Hit from Hurricanes
Oct 22 2008 // Travelers Cos. Inc.’s net income dropped to $214 million for the third quarter, down from $1.2 billion for the same period last year, as the company absorbed losses from Hurricanes Ike, Gustav and Dolly. The...
California Opens Local Assistance Center for Wildfire Victims
Oct 22 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the establishment of a Local Assistance Center to help victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. The center, located at Dexter Park, in Sylmar, Calif., will...
California Recovers Nearly $13 Million Following 2007 Wildfires
Oct 21 2008 // Nearly one year after the October 2007 wildfires, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that the state’s Department of Insurance has recovered more than $12.7 million from insurance companies by...
Willis Report: California May See Less Shaking in Earthquake
Oct 21 2008 // Willis Group Holdings, a global insurance broker, has released a report summarizing recent changes in the scientific view of seismic hazard in the United States. The report has been added to the curriculum of the Associate...
$395 Million Approved for Flood, Tornado Recovery in Iowa
Oct 20 2008 // Iowa communities are getting help recovering from a series of natural disasters this year with nearly $395 million in state and federal funding. The money will go to at least 3,200 projects. The biggest chunk of it, about...
Hurricanes, Credit Crunch Hit Louisiana, Texas Agriculture
Oct 20 2008 // Like farmers and ranchers across the United States, agriculture producers in Texas and Louisiana have been impacted by rising fuel and fertilizer costs, and they fear the credit squeeze gripping the nation will make it...
Hurricane Omar Heads for Leeward Islands
Oct 15 2008 // Omar has intensified to hurricane strength in the last 24 hours and continues to move gradually towards the northern Leeward Islands. It is a relatively small storm with hurricane force winds extending up to just 15 miles...
Wildfires Rage North of Los Angeles
Oct 15 2008 // With savage winds subsiding overnight, firefighters on Tuesday contained 70 percent of one of the three major wildfires that have charred more than 25 square miles, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people...
Georgia Drought Persists Despite Rains from Hurricanes
Oct 14 2008 // The banks of Georgia’s Lake Lanier look about the same as last year: Closed boat ramps, parched soil and lonely islands peeking above the surface that should be covered by a dozen feet of water. Epic drought forced...
FEMA Extends Hurricane Ike Housing Deadline in Louisiana
Oct 14 2008 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended its deadline for providing temporary housing for evacuees of Hurricane Ike in Louisiana. Gov. Bobby Jindal says FEMA will now provide temporary housing until Oct....
Wildfire Threatens Homes, Wineries in Napa Valley
Oct 13 2008 // Hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire that is threatening homes and wineries in California’s Napa Valley. Fire officials say the blaze burned 300 acres in the hills by Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, evening just...
AIR Describes Hurricane Norbert’s Passage over Baja California, Mexico
Oct 13 2008 // AIR Worldwide’s latest bulletin on Pacific Ocean Hurricane Norbert traces the storm’s passage over the southern Baja Peninsula, the Gulf of California, and its eventual landfall on the west coast of Mexico....
Hurricane Norbert Threatens Baja California
Oct 9 2008 // The most recent bulletin from Miami’s National Hurricane Center warns that Hurricane Norbert is now threatening “the Southern Baja California peninsula.” Maximum sustained winds are near 135 mph (215...
