Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Canada Orders Rail Transport Restrictions in Areas with High Wildfire Risk
Jul 12 2021 // OTTAWA – Canada on Sunday ordered rail transport restrictions for areas where there is a high wildfire risk after a blaze wiped out the town of Lytton, British Columbia, and killed two people earlier this month. The...
Forecasters Raise Number of Expected Storms for Hurricane Season to 20
Jul 12 2021 // Researchers from Colorado State University boosted their prediction for named tropical storms in the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season in a revised forecast issued last Thursday. Colorado State meteorologists predicted 20...
Aftershocks From M6 Earthquake Rattle California, Nevada
Jul 12 2021 // Aftershocks have hit the region between Northern California and Nevada Friday after a magnitude 6 earthquake sent large boulders rolling into highways and knocked smaller items off shelves. The quake shortly before 4 p.m....
Heat Wave Blankets West as Wildfires Rage in Several States
Jul 12 2021 // Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave blanketed the West, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert areas. Death Valley...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Begins Annual Rate Filing Process
Jul 9 2021 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has begun its annual rate filing process, which will kick off with a July 21 meeting. TWIA’s Actuarial & Underwriting Committee is set to review the rate adequacy...
Tropical Storm Elsa Leaves One Dead in Florida, Several Injured at Georgia Navy Base
Jul 9 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa was carving a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down...
California Seeing More Wildfires So Far Than in Disastrous 2020
Jul 9 2021 // The number of wildfires and amount of land burned in parched California so far this year greatly exceed totals for the same period in the disastrous wildfire year of 2020. Between Jan. 1 and July 4, there were 4,599 fires...
How East States Are Preparing as Tropical Storm Elsa Makes Its Way Northeast
Jul 8 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Florida yesterday and is moving to the Northeast at 20 miles per hour, with the National Hurricane Center (NHC) calling for the storm to sweep over parts of the Northeast...
Weakened Tropical Storm Elsa Mostly Spares Southeast as It Moves Through Carolinas
Jul 8 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa was moving steadily through the Carolinas into the mid-Atlantic region by mid-Thursday, having mostly spared the southeastern states. The National Hurricane Center reported Elsa was about 80 miles...
Washington Governor Declares Wildfire State of Emergency, Burn Ban
Jul 8 2021 // Gov. Jay Inslee this week declared a state of emergency throughout Washington relating to the growing risk of wildfires, including a statewide prohibition on most outdoor and agricultural burning through Sept....
Tropical Storm Elsa to Head into Northeast and New England After Drenching Southeast
Jul 8 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa, which made landfall in Florida yesterday, is dousing the Carolinas and Georgia today and is on track to hit the northeast on Friday. The National Hurricane Center’s forecast calls for Elsa to...
Tropical Storm Elsa Weakens Over Northern Florida
Jul 7 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa was weakening as it traveled over northern Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was about 105 miles west of Jacksonville and moving toward the north near 14 mph, according to the...
Following Years of Deadly Wildfires, PG&E Again Vows to Do Better
Jul 7 2021 // The nation’s largest utility has long vowed to change its reckless ways, but year after year there’s more death and destruction from Northern California wildfires sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric’s...
Record High Temperatures Hit Nordic Region, Arctic Circle, Adding to Wildfire Dangers
Jul 7 2021 // Record-high temperatures from Canada to Scandinavia and intense wildfires flaring up from California to Russia’s Far East are adding to extreme weather events recorded at the start of the summer in the Northern...
California’s Coming Wildfire Season Points to Potential Non-Renewals Ahead for Homeowners
Jul 6 2021 // By all accounts the California wildfire season continues to shape up to be a bad one, and another catastrophe modeling firm has reported sales of their products picking up due in part to carriers and reinsurers looking for...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Rates Deemed Inadequate
Jul 6 2021 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has posted its 2021 Rate Adequacy Analysis for public review. The analysis indicates that TWIA’s current rates are inadequate by 39% for residential coverage and 46% for...
Update: Tropical Storm Elsa Moving Up Florida’s West Coast; Other States in Path
Jul 6 2021 // Tropical Storm Elsa is moving northward along the west coast of Florida, bringing heavy rains and winds, the National Hurricane Center reports. At 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, Elsa was reported to be about 70 miles west...
Small Earthquake Confirmed in Central Wyoming
Jul 6 2021 // A small earthquake struck a sparsely populated area of central Wyoming on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake about 29 miles south of Ten Sleep...
Louisiana Orders Insurer to Halt Non-Renewing Homeowners Policies after 2020 Hurricane Season
Jul 6 2021 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has ordered GeoVera Specialty Insurance Co. to stop non-renewing Louisiana homeowners policies in violation of state law. In a cease and desist order issued last week, Donelon...
Containment of Northern California Wildfires Grows, Wind a Concern
Jul 6 2021 // Containment of three big wildfires in Northern California has increased but potential for a new round of winds this week was a concern, authorities said Monday. Containment of the 39-square-mile Lava Fire at the foot of...
