Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Maui’s Mayor Prioritizes Vows to Hire More Firefighters After Hawaii Wildfire

Mar 19 2024 // Maui’s mayor says he is prioritizing housing, evaluating evacuation routes and hiring more firefighters as his Hawaii community recovers from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.Mayor Richard Bissen...

Long Recovery Ahead for Swath of Central US Hit by Deadly Tornadoes

Mar 18 2024 // LAKEVIEW, Ohio (AP) — Residents in a swath of the central U.S. hit by deadly tornadoes were cleaning up, assessing damage and helping neighbors on Saturday. But it will be a long recovery from the storms that ripped...

Texas Firefighters Completely Contain Panhandle Wildfire

Mar 18 2024 // LUBBOCK — Firefighters have completely contained the Smokehouse Creek fire in Hutchinson County after a nearly three-week battle with what quickly became the largest wildfire in Texas history. That inferno and a series...

Southern California Edison to Pay $80M to US Over 2017 Wildfire

Mar 18 2024 // Southern California Edison agreed to pay the United States $80 million to cover costs and damages incurred by the U.S. Forest Service from the 2017 Thomas wildfire in California’s Los Padres National Forecast, the...

Allstate’s Florida Company Defends 54% Condo Rate Hike. Blames Reinsurance, Hurricane, Rapid Growth

Mar 18 2024 // When Allstate’s Florida unit, Castle Key Indemnity Co., entered the surging condominium insurance market in 2020, it looked like it had made a smart bet: Within two years, the carrier had added no fewer than 123,000...

AccuWeather Warns of ‘Super-Charged’ 2024 Hurricane Season

Mar 18 2024 // AccuWeather experts warn that the return La Nina and historically warm water across the Atlantic Ocean could contribute to a “super-charged” hurricane season in 2024.AccuWeather long-range forecasters say that...

Terrorist Threat to US Has Reached ‘Whole Other Level,’ FBI’s Wray Warns

Mar 15 2024 // Terrorist threats toward the US have reached a “whole other level” from the already heightened situation before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and its response, FBI Director Christopher Wray said...

California Insurance Commissioner: Allow Cat Modeling in Rates for Wildfires

Mar 14 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said he will allow catastrophe modeling to be used in rate regulation for wildfires, a move he says will help restore insurance options for Californians.It was the latest...

Texas Committee to Investigate Panhandle Wildfires

Mar 14 2024 // LUBBOCK — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is creating a legislative committee to investigate the Texas Panhandle wildfires to ensure the state is prepared for future disasters. His Tuesday announcement comes more than...

Xcel Texas Wildfire Legal Reckoning to Take Years to Play Out

Mar 12 2024 // (Xcel Energy Inc. will likely be wrangling for years with the legal fallout from the wildfires burning through the Texas Panhandle.The experience of utility companies in California and Oregon sued over massive blazes...

Texas Firefighters Make Progress Containing Panhandle Wildfires

Mar 12 2024 // LUBBOCK — Texas firefighters are gaining more control over the remaining wildfires in the Panhandle, more than two weeks after the infernos first engulfed large swaths of the region and burned more than 1 million...

Mississippi Wind-Mit Bill Would Tax Insurers, Help Fund Retrofits, Tornado Rooms

Mar 11 2024 // Mississippi could soon join the growing list of states with grant-funded wind fortification programs for homeowners, thanks to a bill that’s moving through the state Legislature.The state House of Representatives...

Texas Utility Rules Didn’t Prevent Panhandle Wildfires

Mar 8 2024 // Before it burned to a pile of ashes, Melanie McQuiddy’s house on the outskirts of Canadian was her family’s home base. Her daughter and grandchildren flocked there for holidays. At Christmastime, she put a tree...

Pacificorp Ordered to Pay Oregon Wildfire Victims Another $42M

Mar 8 2024 // A jury in Oregon has ordered PacifiCorp to pay more than $42 million to 10 victims of devastating wildfires on Labor Day 2020 — the latest verdict in litigation that is expected to see the electric utility on the hook...

Xcel Energy Acknowledges Role in Texas Panhandle Wildfire

Mar 7 2024 // Xcel Energy on Thursday acknowledged its involvement in the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which started last week and quickly became the largest wildfire in state history, burning more than 1 million acres.“Based on...

Texas Fire Chief Dies While Fighting House Fire in City Hit Hard by Wildfires

Mar 7 2024 // A Texas fire chief whose small town was among the hardest hit last week by historic blazes sweeping across the Panhandle died Tuesday while fighting a house fire, authorities said.The house fire that Fritch Fire Chief Zeb...

Washington Commissioner Wants Insurers to Modify Claims Process for Wildfire Victims

Mar 6 2024 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler on Wednesday sent a letter to insurers urging them to consider loosening personal property claim filing requirements for victims of last summer’s Spokane County...

Texas Panhandle Ranchers Look to Rebuild After Wildfires

Mar 6 2024 // CANADIAN — Farmers and ranchers in the Panhandle lost livestock, buildings and infrastructure in the wildfires still raging through the region. Now they’re looking to rebuild.More than 100 people packed a room at...

From Idalia to Otis: The Hurricanes That Shaped 2023 and What’s Next

Mar 6 2024 // We recently brought together thought leaders from across Moody’s to talk with the media at our 2023 Hurricane Season Recap and 2024 Outlook briefing, to provide a range of perspectives from meteorology to market...

Many Texas Panhandle Homes Burned in Wildfires Weren’t Insured

Mar 5 2024 // FRITCH — Many Panhandle residents whose dwellings and possessions burned in the region’s ongoing wildfires may never financially recover for one simple reason: Their homes weren’t insured.“A lot of the...