Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

Report: Hurricane Ian Farm Loss Could Reach $1.56 Billion

Oct 20 2022 // Agriculture losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian’s high winds and drenching rains could reach $1.56 billion, with citrus, cattle, vegetable and melon operations among the hardest hit, the University of Florida...

Hurricane Fiona Breaks New Records in Atlantic Canada With Insured Damage of C$660M

Oct 19 2022 // Hurricane Fiona is estimated to have caused C$660 million (US$436.8 million) in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), which quoted initial estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification...

Swiss Re Expects Claims From Hurricane Ian to Bring Q3 Loss

Oct 18 2022 // Swiss Re forecast on Tuesday a third-quarter net loss of around $500 million after the reinsurance company absorbed preliminary claims from Hurricane Ian of approximately $1.3 billion.“While the 2022 target of 10%...

5.0 Quake Confirmed During Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Volcano Unrest

Oct 17 2022 // A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was the strongest of a series of temblors that struck Friday on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet that scientists say is in a “state of heightened...

Lessons from Hurricane Michael Being Applied to Ian Recovery in SW Florida

Oct 17 2022 // Four years before Category 4 Ian wiped out parts of southwest Florida, the state’s Panhandle had its own encounter with an even stronger hurricane, Michael. The Category 5 storm all but destroyed one town, fractured...

How Uninsured Residents of Maryland’s Smith Island Help Each Other in Tornado Recovery

Oct 17 2022 // The aftermath of the tornado that struck Smith Island is still visible two months after it carved a destructive path through the sparsely populated Chesapeake Bay archipelago.The EF1 tornado began as a waterspout that...

Series of Tesla Fires in Florida Linked to Saltwater Damage From Hurricane Ian

Oct 17 2022 // A Florida senator is calling for action from the Transportation Department and automakers after a series of electric vehicle fires tied to Hurricane Ian.The storm caused flooding and destruction across the state, and fire...

Will Hurricane Ian Consume Florida’s Catastrophe Fund, Forcing More Back-Breaking Reinsurance Next Year?

Oct 17 2022 // While some analysts are predicting that the property insurance industry will be able to manage Hurricane Ian and its estimated $50 billion in insured losses, a few are now warning that the storm could significantly erode...

Over 329K Missourians to Partake in Statewide Earthquake Drill

Oct 13 2022 // A week before Missouri’s annual statewide earthquake drill, more than 329,000 people are already registered to participate in the Great Central U. S. “ShakeOut” on October 20. A total of nearly 2 million...

Stonybrook Capital Says Hurricane Ian Is Largest-Ever Insured Loss Event at Over $75B

Oct 12 2022 // According to Stonybrook Capital, the damage from Hurricane Ian will result in the largest-ever insured loss event in nominal dollars.The advisory and investment banking firm focused on the insurance industry said the...

How One Computer Forecast Model Botched Hurricane Ian

Oct 11 2022 // As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida, normally reliable computer forecast models couldn’t agree on where the killer storm would land. But government meteorologists are now figuring out what went wrong – and...

Hawaii Volcano Unrest, But No Signs of Imminent Eruption

Oct 11 2022 // Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet, is in a “state of heightened unrest,” but is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in an...

IICF Launches Hurricane Ian Relief Fund

Oct 10 2022 // The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) has launched the IICF Hurricane Ian Relief Fund to support those in need in the wake of Hurricane Ian.Funds will benefit Team Rubicon, a nonprofit providing emergency...

M4.4 Earthquake Confirmed in Northwest Oregon

Oct 10 2022 // A 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck northwest Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. No damage was reported but KOIN reports that people from Albany to the Portland metro area reported feeling the temblor on...

California Updating Tsunami Hazard Maps for Seven Counties

Oct 10 2022 // The California Geological Survey has released updated tsunami hazard maps for seven counties to help users determine whether they are in areas at risk for inundation and for planning.The revised interactive maps released...

Hurricane Julia Hits Nicaragua Bringing Torrential Rainfall

Oct 10 2022 // MEXICO CITY (AP) – Hurricane Julia hit Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast on Sunday after lashing Colombia’s San Andres island, and a weakened storm was expected to emerge over the Pacific.Julia hit as a...

Insured Damages From Hurricane Ian $31-$53B: CoreLogic

Oct 10 2022 // Property data and analytics provider CoreLogic included new and updated projections of storm surge and flood losses for Hurricane Ian for a final tally of between $41 billion and $70 billion in insured and uninsured flood...

Florida Citrus Industry Squeezed by Hurricane Ian; Crop Insurance to Cover Some Losses

Oct 7 2022 // The waters have receded, but the stink lingers. As Emma Reynolds Ezell surveys the damage that a night of 100 mile-per-hour winds wrought on her orange groves, she just can’t get over the stench. It’s nothing...

Nebraska Sandhills Wildfire More Than Half Contained

Oct 6 2022 // A destructive Nebraska Sandhills wildfire that saw one firefighter die while fighting the flames was more than half contained by Wednesday, officials said.The size of the Bovee Fire in west-central Nebraska was mapped...

Arizona Tornado Damaged Homes, Power Lost in Dust Storms

Oct 5 2022 // Up to 10 homes were damaged after a tornado touched down in northern Arizona Monday while around Phoenix, dust storms caused downed power lines, fires and cut power to thousands, authorities said.The National Weather...