flooding News

El Niño Helped Reduce Natural Catastrophe Losses in 2015: Munich Re

Insurers paid out around $27 billion for natural disaster claims last year with weather causing 94 percent of incidents, underscoring the challenge posed by climate change, data from reinsurer Munich Re showed on Monday. While the climate phenomenon known as …

State of Emergency Extended in Oklahoma

Gov. Mary Fallin is extending a state of emergency to all 77 Oklahoma counties after another winter storm brought ice to western and central parts of the state and heavy flooding in the east and northeast. Fallin issued an executive …

Storm Frank Batters North Britain; Total Storm Losses Could Top $4.5 Billion

Torrential rain and gale force winds battered northern Britain on Wednesday, cutting power to thousands of homes and forcing some to evacuate flooded streets in the third major storm in a month. The Environment Agency said Britain had faced an …

Update: U.K. Insurers Face Flood Claims up to $2.2B – with More Storms Ahead

Insurers are facing some of the costliest British floods on record as large parts of northern England, already inundated, brace for more heavy rain. Accountants estimate that insurers are currently facing a bill of up to 1.5 billion pounds ($2.22 …

New Flood Maps May Aid Big Development in Louisiana Parish

Revised flood maps could aid a developer’s proposal to build on one of Jefferson Parish’s last large undeveloped tracts. Lafayette-based Southern Lifestyle Development says it’s in talks to buy 2,000 acres in Avondale, near the TPC of Louisiana golf course …

Swiss Re 2015 Economic Cat Loss Initial Estimates = $85Bn; $32Bn Insured

Swiss Re’s latest sigma report preliminarily estimates that total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will reach approximately $85 billion in 2015. Insured losses, however, were just $32 billion. In total, approximately 26,000 people lost their lives in …

Business Losses in India’s Flood-Ravaged Chennai Could Top $2.2 Billion

As the flood-ravaged Indian city of Chennai prayed for respite from torrential rains, a trade body said losses to businesses from the record downpour could reach more than 150 billion rupees ($2.2 billion).* Water discharged from overflowing lakes and reservoirs …

Weather-Related Disasters Occurred Almost Daily in Past Decade: U.N. Report

Weather related disasters such as floods and heatwaves have occurred almost daily in the past decade, almost twice as often as two decades ago, with Asia being the hardest hit region, a U.N. report said on Monday. While the report …

Report: Texas Failing in Assessing, Preparing for Climate Threats

Texas is failing in assessing and preparing for environmental threats posed by climate change, according to a new report. A recently released study by Climate Central and ICF International, States At Risk: America’s Preparedness Report Card, found that Texas is …

El Niño Expected to Become One of Strongest on Record: UN’s Weather Agency

The El Niño weather pattern, a phenomenon associated with extreme droughts, storms and floods, is expected to strengthen before the end of the year and become one of the strongest on record, the U.N. weather agency said on Monday. The …