Latest Flood Headlines
All the headlines from our Flood Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Malaysian Floods Force Evacuation of 200,000 People; at Least 10 Dead
Dec 29 2014 // Malaysia evacuated more than 200,000 people and increased relief efforts as the worst floods in decades left at least 10 people dead. Parts of Thailand and Sri Lanka have also been inundated. The affected states are...
Insurers Dogged by Claims of Slanted Sandy Reports
Dec 28 2014 // When Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, flood insurance companies working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatched an army of structural engineers to do some detective work. Their assignment: Find out how...
Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Redesign Grand River Floodwalls
Dec 23 2014 // Grand Rapids, Mich., is redesigning its flood protection system along the Grand River after years of resistance to calls by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to boost floodwalls. The Grand Rapids Press reports the...
Prison Sites at Salt Lake City Could Get Hit By Tsunami
Dec 23 2014 // The ground shakes violently and then a wall of salty, brine-shrimp-laden water crashes into the Utah State Prison. The cells of the state’s most dangerous inmates start to flood. Panicked Corrections officers must...
FEMA Sets Up Interim Flood Insurance Advocate
Dec 22 2014 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched the interim office of the Flood Insurance Advocate. The interim office will be led by Acting Flood Insurance Advocate David Stearrett beginning Dec. 22. Stearrett...
North Dakota to Receive $1.2M for Flood Mitigation Efforts
Dec 18 2014 // North Dakota is receiving $1.2 million in federal funds for flood mitigation efforts and home buyouts in Cass County. Members of the state’s congressional delegation announced the funding from the Federal Emergency...
UK Government, Insurers Reach Agreement to Establish Flood Re
Dec 18 2014 // The UK’s insurance industry and Government have announced the final agreement securing the development and delivery of Flood Re, described as a “pooled insurance system which will allow even the highest risk...
Swiss Re sigma 2014 Disaster Insured Loss Estimates = $34 Billion
Dec 17 2014 // According to Swiss Re’s preliminary sigma estimates, total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $113 billion in 2014, down from $135 billion in 2013. Out of the total economic losses,...
SBA Loans Impacting Grant Money for Sandy Victims
Dec 15 2014 // When Superstorm Sandy left Denise Erickson’s home with a collapsed foundation, a loan from the Small Business Administration looked like the best deal in town. She got more than $150,000 from the SBA to help fix her...
Lawmakers: Sandy Flood Insurance Concerns Will Be Addressed
Dec 15 2014 // Federal emergency officials are taking new steps to address concerns from homeowners still struggling to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy more than two years ago, New Jersey and New York lawmakers announced on Dec. 5. U.S....
California Super Storm Climate-Driven? Still Insufficient to Quell Drought
Dec 12 2014 // A Pineapple Express “super storm” now lashing California may be driven by climate change, a report states. Yet however strong the storm and no matter what’s causing it, California’s ongoing storm...
AccuWeather.com: Hagupit-Battered Philippines Faces New Tropical Downpours
Dec 12 2014 // AccuWeather Global Weather Center reports in the wake of the devastating storm Hagupit, a new round of tropical downpours threatens to hinder cleanup efforts and renew flooding problems across the Philippines to end the...
U.K.’s Inland Flood-Risk Plan for Thames River Moves Forward
Dec 11 2014 // The UK’s largest inland flood risk scheme has moved forward with the award of a major appraisal study to GBV, a joint venture comprising Galliford Try and Black & Veatch. Flood risk for more than 15,000...
Sandy Flood Insurers Ordered to Disclose Drafts of Engineering Reports
Dec 9 2014 // A Travelers Cos. unit and other flood insurers accused by Hurricane Sandy victims in New York of using falsified engineering reports must turn over the drafts to policyholders, a three-judge panel ruled amid allegations...
N.J. Dealer Gets 3 Years for Selling Sandy-Flooded Cars
Dec 8 2014 // A used car dealer in New Jersey has been sentenced to three years in prison for selling vehicles damaged in Superstorm Sandy to unsuspecting customers. Jonathan Olin of Manalapan admitted orchestrating a scheme in which a...
Ann Arbor, Michigan, Wins Appeal in Flood Responsibility Lawsuit
Dec 8 2014 // The Michigan appeals court has ruled in favor of Ann Arbor and dismissed a lawsuit that tested the responsibility of local governments during severe flooding. The court overturned a decision by a Washtenaw County judge,...
Travelers Unit Sued Over Allegedly Manipulated Sandy Report
Dec 7 2014 // A Travelers Cos. unit was sued by two New York homeowners who accused it of using a doctored engineering report to reject much of their claim for flood damage from Hurricane Sandy, making it the third insurer to face such...
Lawmakers: Sandy Flood Insurance Concerns Will Be Addressed
Dec 6 2014 // Federal emergency officials are taking new steps to address concerns from homeowners still struggling to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy more than two years ago, New Jersey and New York lawmakers announced on Friday, Dec....
Hartford Unit Faces Racketeering Suit on Sandy Claims
Dec 4 2014 // A couple claiming damage from Hurricane Sandy filed court papers accusing a Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. unit, an engineering firm and a law firm for the insurer of engaging in racketeering by scheming to use...
Update: Hartford Unit Accused of Using Fudged Hurricane Sandy Report
Dec 3 2014 // A Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. unit was accused by a lawyer representing Hurricane Sandy victims of using a falsified damage report to dodge paying homeowner claims, the second insurer blamed in the last month...
