Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Forest Service: Lightning Caused Minnesota Wildfire
Aug 23 2021 // A wildfire in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota has grown to 6 1/4 square miles (16 square kilometers), but U.S. Forest Service officials said on Aug. 19 that it grew little overnight. The Forest...
State Fund Offering Credit Extension to Policyholders Impacted by California Wildfires
Aug 20 2021 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is offering a 30-day credit extension to policyholders affected by wildfires currently burning in Northern California counties declared states of emergency by Gov.Gavin...
California Wildfire Season Setting a Record, More Damage Expected
Aug 20 2021 // Smoke from California’s wildfires choked people on the East Coast. Flames wiped out a Gold Rush-era town. The acreage burned would dwarf the state of Rhode Island. Images of homes engulfed in flames and mountains...
Nevada Senator Wants Ideas to Address Wildfire Smoke
Aug 20 2021 // Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is urging firefighters, scientists, teachers and moms to help form new strategies to deal with increasingly unhealthy air quality in Nevada caused by wildfires that continue to worsen and no...
Tropical Storm Henri Could Strike New York, New England as Hurricane Starting Sunday
Aug 20 2021 // Tropical Storm Henri is set to grow into a hurricane before slamming the U.S. Northeast anywhere from Long Island to Massachusetts, bringing heavy rain, a flooding storm surge and thrashing winds to the region starting...
California Commissioner Issues Non-Renewal Moratorium to Aid Policyholders Affected by Wildfires
Aug 19 2021 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies from non-renewing or cancelling residential property insurance policies. The action is intended to...
Wildfire Grows to 5 Square Miles in Northeastern Minnesota
Aug 19 2021 // A wildfire in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota has grown to 5 square miles (13 square kilometers) as hot, dry and windy conditions persist, officials said. U.S. Forest Service and other crews have...
California Wildfires Are Exhausting 10,000-Strong Army Fighting Them
Aug 19 2021 // There are over 10,000 firefighters battling unprecedented blazes in California, but that isn’t enough, and the state is having a hard time finding more as flames rage across the western U.S. and Canada. Twelve major...
Why Haiti Is Prone to Deadly Earthquakes
Aug 19 2021 // Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. Saturday’s powerful quake killed hundreds and injured thousands more....
North Carolina Gov. Cooper Issues State of Emergency After Tropical Storm Fred Causes Historic Flooding
Aug 18 2021 // North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a State of Emergency in response to Tropical Storm Fred, which caused severe flood in the western part of the state. Approximately 30 people are currently in missing in Haywood...
Dozens of Homes Evacuated as Minnesota Wildfire Spreads
Aug 18 2021 // Dozens of residences have been evacuated as a wildfire in northeastern Minnesota continues to spread, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire in the Superior National Forest near Greenwood Lake had expanded to about...
Wildfires Advancing Through Northern California
Aug 18 2021 // Northern California wildfires that incinerated two mountain communities continued marching through the Sierra Nevada while a utility purposely blacked out as many as 51,000 customers to prevent new blazes. Two weeks after...
Insured Losses from Haiti Earthquake Estimated at $250M: Karen Clark & Co.
Aug 17 2021 // The large 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which hit Haiti on Aug. 14, is likely to cost insurers around $250 million, according to catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. (KCC). While the insured losses from this event...
Crews Battle ‘Rapidly Growing’ Wildfire in Northern Minnesota
Aug 17 2021 // Fire crews in northeastern Minnesota battled a “rapidly growing” wildfire Sunday, adding to a list of wildfires in the region that has prompted Gov. Tim Walz to authorize the National Guard to assist in...
10th Tornado Confirmed in July Pennsylvania, New Jersey Storms
Aug 17 2021 // The National Weather Service has confirmed a 10th tornado that struck during storms last month in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Forecasters in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said Sunday that the EF-0 tornado struck July 29 in a...
Heavy Rains Lash Haiti, Complicating Rescue Efforts for Earthquake Survivors
Aug 17 2021 // LES CAYES, Haiti – Heavy rains lashed Haiti on Tuesday night, complicating rescue efforts and drenching thousands left homeless by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 1,419 people, as hopes dimmed for...
Why Snow, Hail and Wildfire Are Expensive for Insurance Industry
Aug 17 2021 // If you’re having trouble wrapping your mind around the spree of natural catastrophes currently plaguing the world—from deadly July floods in Germany and China to the wildfires still burning in Greece, California...
Tropical Storm Fred Makes Landfall Along Florida Panhandle
Aug 16 2021 // Tropical storm Fred made landfall near Cape San Blas, Florida Monday Aug. 16 at approximately 3:15 p.m. EST, according to the National Hurricane Center. Fred is expected to bring dangerous storm surge and flooding rains...
Death Toll Soars from Haiti Earthquake; U.S. Deploys Search and Rescue Teams
Aug 16 2021 // The U.S. deployed search and rescue teams to help find survivors among the debris of collapsed buildings in Haiti as the death toll soars from Saturday’s massive earthquake. At least 1,297 people were killed after...
Fred Expected to Bring Tropical Storm Conditions to Florida
Aug 13 2021 // Fred is forecasted to bring tropical storm conditions in portions of Florida Saturday according to a National Hurricane Center Aug. 13 update. The Keys, southern and central Florida could see between three to six inches of...
