Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Are Brokers in for a Tsunami of Pandemic- Related E&O Claims in 2021?
Apr 27 2021 // This post is part of a series sponsored by Worldwide Facilities, an Amwins Company. In November 2020, attendees of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society’s first-ever virtual conference warned insurance...
S.D. Firefighter Landowner Suspects Arson as Large Wildfire Cause
Apr 26 2021 // A former wildland firefighter who owns the land where a burn pile ignited a large wildfire near Rapid City says he believe the blaze was intentionally set. In a 60-page report, the landowner told investigators he was...
North-Central Kansas Rattled by Small Earthquakes
Apr 26 2021 // Several small earthquakes have rattled north-central Kansas. The largest had a magnitude of 3.5 and was reported Friday in Jewell County. Two other quakes measuring 2.3 and 2.5 on the Richter scale were recorded Saturday...
Coalition is Letting Californians Know May is Wildfire Awareness Month
Apr 22 2021 // Now is the time for Californians to prepare homes and communities for the coming wildfire season, the StrongerCA Coalition is warning. Last year saw a record-breaking wildfire season, with five of the 10 largest wildfires...
Cape Town Wildfire Largely Contained; Damage Assessment Begins
Apr 21 2021 // CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Fire crews had largely contained a big wildfire on the slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain on Tuesday as the city started to come to terms with the damage caused by what officials...
70 Homes Across Mississippi Damaged by 4 Tornadoes
Apr 20 2021 // Four tornadoes that moved across Mississippi earlier this month caused damage to around 70 homes, emergency officials said Thursday. Four businesses and three farms were also damaged. There have been no reports of injuries...
Another Earthquake Reported Near Louisiana-Texas Border
Apr 19 2021 // A second earthquake has sent some shock waves to parts of north Louisiana near the Texas border. A 3.1 magnitude earthquake was registered about 7:43 p.m. on April 15, about 6 miles west of Blanchard, Louisiana and near...
Wildfire on Cape Town’s Table Mountain Rages Out of Control
Apr 19 2021 // More than 250 firefighters in Cape Town battled a massive blaze that broke out on the slopes of the city’s Table Mountain on Sunday and spread to a university campus, severely damaging at least three buildings and...
Farmers Insurance to Pay $25M in Settlement Over Oklahoma Earthquake Claims
Apr 19 2021 // Oklahoma has reached a $25 million settlement with Farmers Insurance over the company’s handling of earthquake claims, state officials say. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and Insurance Commissioner Glen...
California Toughens PG&E Wildfire Safety Oversight
Apr 16 2021 // California officials on Thursday voted to toughen oversight of Pacific Gas & Electric, saying the utility had largely failed to perform required tree-trimming work near power lines in areas with the highest risk of...
California Targets Urgent Projects as Wildfire Season Looms
Apr 15 2021 // California is in such an urgent race with another devastating wildfire season that officials began soliciting local project ideas even before they had money to pay for them. It faces such a threat of drought that the...
California Plans $536M for Wildfire Mitigation Before Fire Season
Apr 14 2021 // California will authorize $536 million for wildfire mitigation and forest management projects before the worst of the fire season strikes later this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders said. That more than...
Russia Vulnerable to Climate Change, Causing Expensive Natural Disasters
Apr 14 2021 // The residents of Irkutsk, one of Russia’s coldest regions, are used to harsh winters. But when the temperature dropped to negative 60 degrees Celsius (-76 Fahrenheit) last January, even they had to submit to the...
Weak Tornado Confirmed in South Carolina from Weekend Storms
Apr 13 2021 // The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a weak tornado hit near Moore in upstate South Carolina on Saturday. Surveyors say the EF-O tornado had top winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and a path of 1.1 miles (1.75...
State of Emergency Declared in South Louisiana Parish After Tornado
Apr 12 2021 // A south Louisiana parish is declaring a state of emergency after a tornado killed one person and injured seven in Palmetto on April 10. St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard said on Facebook that two of the injured...
U.S. Raises Average Number of Named Storms for Atlantic Hurricane Season
Apr 12 2021 // The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has changed the number of storms that constitute an average Atlantic hurricane season, the agency said in a statement on Friday. NOAA’s Climate...
Researchers Predict Above-Average Hurricane Season This Year
Apr 8 2021 // Colorado State University hurricane researchers are predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2021, citing the likely absence of El Niño as a primary factor. The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project team is...
California’s PG&E Sees Criminal Charges in 2019 Wildfire
Apr 8 2021 // A California prosecutor has filed 33 criminal charges accusing troubled Pacific Gas & Electric of inadvertently injuring six firefighters and endangering public health with smoke and ash in a 2019 fire blamed on its...
M4.0 Earthquake Confirmed in Los Angeles Area
Apr 7 2021 // A 4.0 magnitude earthquake gave the Los Angeles area a jolt before dawn Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The 4:44 a.m. quake was centered in the Inglewood area east of Los Angeles International Airport,...
Three Dozen California Bills Focus on Wildfire, Others Are Concerning for Insurance Industry
Apr 6 2021 // Roughly three dozen pieces of California legislation are directly related to wildfire, and while those bills should hold much interest for the insurance community, there are other bills making their rounds that should draw...
