Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wildfire Destroys School in Small Eastern Washington Town
Oct 15 2021 // A fire has destroyed a school in an eastern Washington town. Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers said the fire at Almira Elementary and Middle School started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Classes and after school activities had...
California Highway Reopens, Wildfire Still Threatens Homes
Oct 15 2021 // A key Southern California highway closed for days because of a wildfire was reopened Thursday evening but authorities warned that flames still posed a threat to remote properties in a coastal mountain range. The Alisal...
Reinsurer Natural Disaster Losses to Exceed Budget Expectations for 5th Year: S&P
Oct 15 2021 // For the fifth consecutive year, insured losses from natural catastrophes are expected to be at or above global reinsurers’ budget expectations, but their very strong capital adequacy continues to provide a cushion,...
Likely Tornadoes Cause No Major Damage in Oklahoma City
Oct 14 2021 // Two likely tornadoes touched down in the Oklahoma City area Wednesday in addition to two other suspected twisters in western Oklahoma as severe storms hit the state, according to the National Weather Service. There are no...
AccuWeather: Texas to See Excessive Rain, Flooding from Hurricane Pamela
Oct 13 2021 // Pamela will not only pose significant dangers across Mexico, as it pushes inland after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday morning, but its impacts will also be felt across parts of the United States while...
Surging California Winds Spark New Wildfires, Power Outages
Oct 13 2021 // Blustery winds still surged through California on Tuesday after downing trees, fanning wildfires and shutting off power to about 21,000 customers in northern and central regions. Red flag warnings of dangerous fire...
Strong Earthquake Jolts Greek Island of Crete, 3 Weeks After Another Temblor
Oct 13 2021 // ATHENS, Greece (AP) – A strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday, three weeks after another temblor killed a man and damaged hundreds of buildings. The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the...
Typhoon Kompasu Lashes Hong Kong, Forcing Cancellation of Stock Trading
Oct 13 2021 // Hong Kong suspended schools and the city’s $6.3 trillion stock market canceled trading Wednesday as strong winds and rain from typhoon Kompasu lashed the financial hub. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. canceled...
Tornadoes Rip Oklahoma; Storms Rock Central U.S.
Oct 12 2021 // Severe storms brought suspected tornadoes and baseball-sized hail to parts of Oklahoma, but there were no reports Monday of deaths or injuries. The severe weather system that hit Oklahoma late Sunday also brought heavy...
Senators Agree Federal Hurricane Prevention for New Orleans Worked During Ida
Oct 12 2021 // U.S. senators on Oct. 6 promoted a federal hurricane system’s performance in New Orleans during Hurricane Ida, but noted that other regions experienced devastation that is likely to worsen as climate change produces...
Strong Earthquakes Confirmed off Coast of Hawaii
Oct 12 2021 // CORRECTION: In a story published October 10, 2021, about an earthquake that struck Sunday off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, The Associated Press erroneously reported that there were two earthquakes 20 minutes...
Magnitude 6.5 Earthquake Struck off Coast of Alaska
Oct 12 2021 // An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck early Monday off the coast of Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. The epicenter was about 114 kilometers east of the village of Chignik, the USGS...
Specialty MGA Rokstone Launches Terrorism Facility in the UK, Led by Ensurance’s Steel
Oct 12 2021 // Rokstone, the London-based speciality re/insurance managing general agency, has launched a new terrorism facility with “A”-rated capacity in the UK. The news follows the launch of its terrorism product in the...
MGA Occam Acquires Terrorism Specialist Beech Underwriting Agencies
Oct 11 2021 // Occam Underwriting, the London-based specialist lines focused managing general agency (MGA), announced it is acquiring Beech Underwriting Agencies Ltd., subject to UK regulatory approval. Beech Underwriting is an approved...
California Encourages Prescribed Burns to Counter Wildfires
Oct 8 2021 // California is encouraging more use of fire to fight fire, such as when deliberately set burns were recently used to protect giant sequoias from a raging wildfire. But sometimes what are known as prescribed fires themselves...
Tokyo Jolted by Strongest Earthquake Since 2011, With Injuries Reported
Oct 8 2021 // A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near Tokyo late Thursday, rattling parts of the capital the most since the March 2011 disaster. Few train services remained disrupted the next morning, while some injuries were...
Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake Hits Pakistan, Killing at Least 20
Oct 7 2021 // QUETTA, Pakistan – An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 hit southern Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday, killing 20 people, most of them women and children, and injuring about 300, at a time when many victims were asleep,...
U.S. Approves Fire Retardant That Could Be ‘Game-Changer’ in Fighting Wildfires
Oct 7 2021 // U.S. officials on this week approved a long-lasting fire retardant that could significantly aid in fighting increasingly destructive wildfires by stopping them before they ever start. The U.S. Forest Service approved...
Swiss Re Estimates Hurricane Ida Could Cost Insurers $30 Billion
Oct 6 2021 // On an industry level, Swiss Re now estimates that total insured market losses from Hurricane Ida to be in the range of $28–30 billion, excluding federal flood insurance losses. Hurricane Ida, the second-most intense...
Swiss Re Estimates Hurricane Ida Could Cost Insurers $30 Billion
Oct 5 2021 // On an industry level, Swiss Re now estimates that total insured market losses from Hurricane Ida to be in the range of $28–30 billion, excluding federal flood insurance losses. Hurricane Ida, the second-most intense...
