Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Chile Finalizes Major Earthquake Insurance With World Bank
Feb 24 2023 // Chile is finalizing a deal with the World Bank for insurance against high-intensity earthquakes that would impact the country’s fiscal policy and public debt, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. “The...
Thunderstorms, Possible Tornadoes Ravage Central New Jersey
Feb 23 2023 // After a rare tornado warning was issued Tuesday, a strong line of thunderstorms ripped through central New Jersey with powerful winds that caused many trees to be ripped out of the ground in Pennington and West Windsor....
California Wildfire Innovation Fund Getting $25M Boost
Feb 23 2023 // A California fund to encourage wildfire innovation and lower the severity and frequency of catastrophic wildfire is getting a $25 million boost. Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA Insurance Group made a $25 million commitment...
New Mexico Law Signed to Help Wildfire, Flooding Recovery
Feb 22 2023 // New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed to use zero-interest loans to help local governments in the arid, Southwest state repair or replace public infrastructure damaged by wildfires or subsequent flooding. The law...
People Moves: Swiss Re Promotes Ningen to CEO, US P&C Re; MS Reinsurance Hires 4 for Data, Underwriting; Aon Promotes Day, Dickson in Political Violence & Terrorism Team
Feb 22 2023 // This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Swiss Re, MS Reinsurance, and Aon. A summary of these new hires follows here. Swiss Re Promotes Ningen to CEO, US P&C Re Monica Ningen Monica Ningen...
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Accuses Hurricane Claim Law Firm of Fraud
Feb 21 2023 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced Friday that his department issued a cease-and-desist order to McClenny, Moseley & Associates, a Houston-based law firm that filed more than 1,500 hurricane-damage...
California Earthquake False Alarm Offers a Lesson for Crisis Communicators
Feb 20 2023 // An earthquake false alarm nearly four years ago can teach disaster and emergency planners – and any crisis communicators, including insurers – a thing or two about communicating to the public during and...
Turkey Earthquakes to Cost Insurers $2.4 Billion: Karen Clark & Co.
Feb 16 2023 // Catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. (KCC) said on Thursday it expects insured losses of $2.4 billion from the devastating dual Kahramanmaras earthquakes that hit Turkey earlier this month. The number of people...
Turkey Needs to Build Million Homes After Earthquakes, Developer Says
Feb 16 2023 // Turkey would need to construct about a million new homes in the 10 provinces hit by the February 6 earthquakes, according to a property developer, signaling the massive rebuilding effort that needs to be...
Historic Alabama City Facing Long Road to Recovery From Tornado
Feb 16 2023 // In a Selma neighborhood — a few blocks from the starting point of the 1965 voting rights marches — the path of a January tornado remains clear. Homes sit collapsed or missing walls and roofs. Some building are...
Earthquakes in Turkey to Cost Insurers More Than $1 Billion, Verisk Estimates
Feb 14 2023 // Economic losses for the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in Turkey will likely exceed US$20 billion, while insured losses will likely be more than US$1 billion, according to Extreme Event Solutions at Verisk (formerly AIR...
Southern California Edison Sued by City for Damaging Wildfire
Feb 13 2023 // A city claims in a lawsuit that Southern California Edison equipment ignited a damaging wildfire last fall. The lawsuit filed on behalf of the city of Hemet claims that the utility did not manage its electrical power lines...
Earthquake Recovery Continues on Northern California Coast
Feb 10 2023 // Humboldt County authorities have released the latest statistics on recovery from the December earthquake and aftershocks that struck the Northern California coast. Roughly 91 structures have been red-tagged as unsafe to...
Global Reinsurers to Bear Bulk of Losses From Turkey-Syria Earthquake: Fitch
Feb 9 2023 // Most insurance payouts due to the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria ultimately will be borne by global reinsurers, according to Fitch Ratings. “The vast majority of insured losses will be covered by reinsurance,...
Earthquake Update: More Than 20,000 Dead Across Turkey, Syria; Rescue Efforts Intensify
Feb 9 2023 // Thousands of foreign aid workers have arrived in Turkey and the first UN aid convoy has entered Syria after this week’s twin earthquakes. The World Bank announced a $1.78 billion relief package as well. The death...
Criminal Attorney Signs on to Represent Houston Hurricane Claim Filing Law Firm
Feb 8 2023 // Houston, Texas-based McClenny Moseley & Associates hired a criminal defense lawyer after being sanctioned last week by a federal judge in New Orleans for filing lawsuits on behalf of a homeowner it did not...
Hurricane Irma Deaths at Florida Nursing Home: Accident or Manslaughter?
Feb 8 2023 // A Florida nursing home administrator charged with causing the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017 went on trial Monday, with a prosecutor calling him a “captain who abandoned ship”...
Earthquakes Deliver Another Blow to Turkey’s Re/Insurance Industry: Reports
Feb 8 2023 // Two powerful earthquakes, which hit southeastern Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023, deliver another blow to the local re/insurance industry, according to commentaries from AM Best and GlobalData. While it is likely that international...
Thwarted Plot to Attack Baltimore Power Grid Part of Growing Domestic Terrorism: Feds
Feb 8 2023 // A Maryland woman spent months conspiring with a neo-Nazi leader based in Florida to plan an attack on Baltimore’s power grid, hoping to further their racist mission, law enforcement officials said Monday. The plan...
No Damage or Injuries Reported From Small Earthquake in Buffalo Suburb
Feb 7 2023 // A small earthquake rumbled through western New York early Monday, alarming people in a region unaccustomed to such shaking but apparently causing no significant damage. The U.S. Geological Survey preliminarily reported a...
