Floods News

Hurricane Karl Bears Down on Mexico’s Gulf Coast

Hurricane Karl bore down on Mexico’s central Gulf Coast on Friday, threatening to cause flash floods and mudslides, but it appeared to have spared Mexican offshore oil operations from major damage. Karl, which was projected to produce a storm surge …

FEMA Delays Flood Map Rollout in SW Illinois

Property owners in southwestern Illinois who worry that new government floodplain maps will force them to buy expensive flood insurance are getting another break. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it will delay implementing the new flood maps until the …

Gulf Hurricane Insurance Bill Unlikely to Pass, Again

In Pascagoula, Miss., on the Gulf Coast, agent Laverne Nelson has to get windstorm coverage for her personal property from the state wind pool. That is because in April her property insurer, MetLife, dropped her wind coverage. Before that, she …

Nashville Mall Sues for $150 Million in Flood Claims

The Opry Mills mall, closed since early May because of flooding, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against 17 insurance companies seeking at least $150 million in claims. The mall, on the site of the old Opryland USA theme park, said in …

EU Leaders Agree on Trade, But Clash over Roma Expulsions

The European Union agreed on Thursday to sign a free-trade pact with South Korea and grant Pakistan trade concessions after floods, but a row over France’s deportation of Roma migrants marred a one-day summit. The agreement on trade issues was …

Insurance Claims Pour in from Tropical Storm Hermine

Like the rainfall that inundated Texas as a result of Tropical Storm Hermine, claims from property damage caused by the storm have been pouring in to insurers, the Insurance Council of Texas has reported. ICT spokesman Mark Hanna says claims …

Hermine Surprises Texas, Oklahoma with Extensive Flooding

Tropical Storm Hermine, which swept through Texas on Sept. 7 and into Oklahoma on Sept. 8, surprised forecasters by retaining tropical storm strength long after it was expected to decline. The storm resulted in extensive flooding, several funnel cloud sightings …

Climate Change May Add to Natural Disaster Death Tolls

Natural disasters are tending to kill fewer people but climate change may add to the toll by unleashing more extreme weather and causing after-effects such as disease and malnutrition, experts say. Better warnings of cyclones or heat waves and an …

Marmarth, N.D., Dike Decertified by Feds

Federal officials have decertified a dike that for half a century has protected the southwest North Dakota town of Marmarth from flooding by the Little Missouri River. That means Marmarth will be mapped as a flood plain, and lenders might …

Flood Report for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Calls for Better Protection System

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft report that calls for a better, if limited, flood-protection system in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Cedar River swamped the city in 2008, covering 10 square miles. The city’s existing system …