Latest Flood Headlines
All the headlines from our Flood Topic Page, ordered by recency.
North Carolina Suffers Fourth Flash Flood in 4 Months
Jul 29 2013 // A series of thunderstorms moving across western North Carolina has triggered what meteorologists are calling major flash flooding. The Charlotte Observer reported that parts of Catawba and surrounding counties were under...
New Jersey Flood Victims Face Difficult Buyout Decision
Jul 29 2013 // Bob and Pat Smith have seen many floods in their 47 years on Water Street, but none as severe as in Superstorm Sandy. Last year’s storm waters rose halfway up their front door and left a debris field of mud and mold...
Florida Seeks Federal Disaster Aid Following Panhandle Floods
Jul 26 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott is asking that the federal government declare a disaster due to floods that caused extensive damage in the Panhandle. The state estimates there was $29 million worth of damage caused by the heavy...
PERILS Issues Maximum Flood Footprint Map for Central Europe
Jul 25 2013 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has released its final Maximum Flood Extent Map for the floods which affected Central Europe in June 2013. The bulletin...
1st Half 2013 Natural Disasters Cost $85 Billion – Aon Benfield
Jul 25 2013 // A mid-year natural disaster analysis from Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, puts economic losses from global natural disasters at $85 billion, higher than the $75...
Flood Insurance an Issue in Louisiana’s U.S. Senate Race
Jul 24 2013 // U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and her Senate race challenger, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, are jockeying for credit and prominence on a high-profile problem for many Louisiana residents: the skyrocketing cost of flood insurance...
Canada’s Intact Financial Sees $454 Mn Flood Losses; $24.2 Mn Train Crash
Jul 23 2013 // Canadian P&C insurer Intact Financial said it expected quarterly results would be hurt by losses from a train derailment and fiery explosion in a Quebec town and storm and flood damage in Canada’s oil capital,...
Severe Flooding Can Happen In a Flash, Tennessee City Learns
Jul 23 2013 // This is why they call it a flash flood. A rainy night in South Pittsburg, Tenn., on July 10 quickly turned into something legendary. Relentless rains spawned a newborn river that decided to make its way right through...
Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes
Jul 22 2013 // Just a year after Congress approved changes in the oft-criticized federal flood insurance program, protests from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays to preserve below-cost rates for...
FEMA Asked to Review Flood Insurance Rules
Jul 22 2013 // U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider reversing denials of Superstorm Sandy flood claims based on the “earth movement” exclusion. Gillibrand said...
New York Provides $16M to Some Flooded Upstate Counties
Jul 18 2013 // The state will provide $16 million to homeowners, business operators and farmers in five of the 12 upstate counties that were declared disaster areas after recent severe flooding but denied federal aid, Gov. Andrew Cuomo...
N.J. Gov. Christie Announces More Flood Buyouts
Jul 18 2013 // The floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy gushed in through Bob and Pat Smith’s porch windows and didn’t stop rising till reaching the 6-foot mark. The Smiths marked the insurgence with a piece of black electrical...
SCOR Estimates Net Pre-tax Losses from Alberta Floods at $52 Million
Jul 18 2013 // French reinsurer SCOR Group announced that “the June flood event in Alberta, which resulted in mass evacuations of people from their homes and major disruption to the Central Business District of Calgary, may...
What’s Really Going on with Flood Rates? FEMA Provides Some Clarity
Jul 17 2013 // In recent months, a group of lawmakers from the Gulf Coast — led by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. — in concert with some of their colleagues from Sandy-hit New York and New Jersey have been doing their darnedest to...
Meteorologists Warn Of Wyoming Burn-Area Floods, Slides
Jul 12 2013 // Meteorologists are warning of possible flash floods and mudslides in many of the areas burned by Wyoming’s numerous wildfires last year. Wildfires contribute to flooding and mudslides by clearing away vegetation that...
President Signs Disaster Declaration For Montana Floods
Jul 12 2013 // President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration making federal money available to help the state, local and tribal governments repair or replace facilities damaged by flooding in north-central and northeastern...
Heavy Rains Cause Major Floods, Mudslides in China: AIR Worldwide
Jul 12 2013 // AIR Worldwide reports that “days of heavy rain across the mountainous Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of southwestern China have caused widespread flooding and triggered landslides. Official reports state that 99...
Europe’s Floods Top Aon Benfield’s List of June’s Catastrophes
Jul 11 2013 // The latest report from Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, which reviews the natural disasters that occurred worldwide during June 2013, highlights the $22 billion in...
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner to Storm Survivors: Register With FEMA
Jul 10 2013 // Survivors of the tornadoes, severe storms and flooding that occurred in Oklahoma from May 18 to June 2 have less than two weeks to register for state and federal disaster assistance. The deadline is July 19. “Even if...
Flash Flood Triggers Blackouts, Transport Chaos in Toronto: AIR Analysis
Jul 10 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports that “after days of heavy precipitation, a torrential thunderstorm on July 8th dropped an additional ten centimeters [app. 4 inches] of rain on Canada’s largest...
