Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
More than 6,500 Still in Louisiana Shelters After Hurricanes
Oct 21 2020 // More than 6,500 people are still in temporary shelters after back-to-back hurricanes hit Louisiana, according to the state, but some are being told to leave. The Department of Children and Family Services said about 6,430...
New Mercury Insurance Programs Target California Homeowners’ Wildfire Risk
Oct 21 2020 // Mercury Insurance has launched two new programs designed to help Californians better protect their homes and families if they live in areas prone to wildfires. Homeowners who take one or more steps to either harden their...
Tropical Storm Epsilon Grows in Strength as It Heads Toward Bermuda
Oct 20 2020 // Tropical Storm Epsilon has formed in the central Atlantic and will move northwest, probably growing into a hurricane as it nears Bermuda late this week. Epsilon’s winds have reached 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour...
Report: Cost of Damage from August Midwest Windstorm Up to $7.5B
Oct 20 2020 // Damage estimates from a rare windstorm that slammed Iowa and some other parts of the Midwest in August are growing, with the total now at $7.5 billion, according to a new report. The Aug. 10 storm hit Iowa hard but also...
California Pledges to Protect Homeowners from Insurer Withdrawals Due to Wildfires
Oct 19 2020 // California’s insurance commissioner on Monday pledged to step up efforts to protect the state’s residents from wildfires and address a pullback of private insurers from the state’s riskiest...
Oregon Issues Wildfire Emergency Order and Bulletin for Insurers
Oct 19 2020 // The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services’ Division of Financial Regulation has issued a new wildfire emergency order. The order took effect after the current emergency order expired on Oct. 18. The...
Light Earthquake Confirmed in Alaska’s Largest City, No Damage
Oct 19 2020 // A light earthquake shook Alaska’s major population center, but there were no reports of damage, the Alaska Earthquake Center confirmed. The magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook Anchorage and nearby communities, including...
Insurance Losses for April’s Queensland Hailstorms Estimated at A$604M: PERILS
Oct 19 2020 // The insurance industry’s loss footprint for the April 2020 Central Queensland hailstorms is estimated at A$604 million (US$423.2 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides...
California Commissioner Asks Insurers to Cover Wildfire Losses Sans Home Inventory
Oct 19 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is asking insurers to help wildfire survivors by providing up to 100% of personal property coverage limits without a detailed inventory to those who suffered a total loss of...
Should Upcoming California Commissioner’s Hearing on Wildfires Concern Insurers?
Oct 16 2020 // Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will convene a “virtual investigatory hearing” on Monday to initiate a series of regulatory actions that will protect residents from the increasing risk of wildfires. Several...
Study: Hurricane Irma Led to 400 Senior Deaths in Florida Nursing Homes
Oct 16 2020 // The aftereffects of 2017’s Hurricane Irma appear to have killed more than 400 senior residents of Florida nursing homes, a new university study shows. Researchers at the University of South Florida and Brown...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: Check, Money Order Payment Process Changes Start Oct. 21
Oct 16 2020 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has reminded agents that it will be enhancing its current payment processes and adding new online payment options for policyholders. This web post is about changes to how...
Louisianans Warned of Contractor Fraud Following Dual Hurricanes
Oct 16 2020 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and State Representative Jonathan Goudeau are warning residents affected by Hurricanes Laura and Delta that both the Louisiana Department of Insurance and Rep. Goudeau’s...
California Heat Wave Prompts Power Shutdowns, Wildfire Danger
Oct 16 2020 // More than 50,000 California utility customers were without power and others around the state were urged to conserve electricity Thursday amid a fall heat wave that brought another round of extreme wildfire danger. The...
Northwest Windstorm Kills 1, Thousands Lose Power
Oct 15 2020 // One person died after a tree fell on them and thousands of people in western Washington were without power as high winds blew into the region Tuesday. According to Anne Nesbit with Key Peninsula Fire, a tree fell on a...
Small Earthquake Confirmed in Arizona
Oct 15 2020 // A small earthquake was confirmed about eight miles east of Flagstaff. According to the United States Geological Survey’s website, the 3.3-magnitude quake was reported at 9:08 a.m. Tuesday with the epicenter located...
Future Unsure for Many After Louisiana’s Back-to-Back Hurricanes
Oct 14 2020 // Michele Vincent’s home was largely intact in spite of hurricanes Laura and Delta. But tears streamed down her face as she looked at her church’s broken windows and shattered pews. “It’s hard to come...
Tropical Storm Nangka Forces Suspension of Markets in Hong Kong
Oct 13 2020 // Hong Kong scrapped trading of stocks and bonds Tuesday after tropical storm Nangka prompted authorities to shutter businesses and close schools. The move came after the Hong Kong Observatory kept its storm signal at No. 8,...
Oregon Easing Some Asbestos Rules to Speed Wildfire Cleanup
Oct 12 2020 // Oregon officials are relaxing some requirements for handling ash and debris containing asbestos to speed work in removing debris from homes and buildings destroyed by wildfires. The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission...
Team Investigating Deadly California Wildfire Seizes PG&E Equipment
Oct 12 2020 // Fire investigators looking into what caused a wildfire that killed four people in far Northern California have taken possession of equipment belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric, the utility has reported. PG&E said in...
