Latest Natural Disasters Headlines

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

Kentucky Lawmakers Plan to Move Quickly on Tornado Recovery Package

Jan 11 2022 // Kentucky lawmakers, back in session, are planning to take up tornado-recovery legislation this week, with the goal of quickly distributing an initial round of assistance, House Speaker David Osborne said.The newly...

Tornadoes Reported in Houston, Northwest Louisiana

Jan 11 2022 // At least two tornadoes touched down in the Houston area over the weekend as storms brought high winds and heavy rains, damaging homes and businesses and causing flooding.Most of the damage from the storms that came through...

HUD Suspends Funding for Hurricane Harvey Assistance

Jan 10 2022 // The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development has halted the distribution of $1.95 billion that was approved for flood mitigation projects in Texas following Hurricane Harvey.A news release from HUD said the Texas...

Colorado Wildfire Caused $513M in Damage, Officials Say

Jan 10 2022 // Last week’s Colorado wildfire caused at least $513 million in damage and destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and structures, officials as they updated the toll of property lost in the most destructive wildfire in state...

Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $120B in 2021. Munich Re Points to Climate Change Link.

Jan 10 2022 // Natural disasters across the globe caused economic losses of US$280 billion in 2021, of which roughly US$120 billion were insured, according to a report from Munich Re, which noted that U.S. natural catastrophes...

More South Carolina Earthquakes Leave Experts Puzzled

Jan 7 2022 // After more earthquakes have struck near South Carolina’s capital city, the ninth and tenth in a series of rumblings, geologists are asking how long the convulsions might last, or if they could possibly portend more...

Modeler Estimates Insured Losses From Colorado Wildfire at $1B

Jan 6 2022 // The Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in late December will result in roughly $1 billion in losses, according to a report from catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co.On Dec. 30, a devastating...

Premium Finance Companies Can Extend Payment Deadlines After Kentucky Tornadoes

Jan 5 2022 // Premium finance companies are permitted to extend due dates for premiums and other charges in the wake of tornadoes that ripped through the state in December, the Kentucky insurance commissioner announced.Finance companies...

Investigators Narrow Search for Origin of Massive Colorado Wildfire

Jan 4 2022 // Investigators looking for the cause of the Colorado wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes have narrowed their search to a sparsely populated neighborhood near Boulder where a passer-by captured video of a burning shed...

2 Still Missing in Colorado Wildfire; Cause Under Investigation

Jan 4 2022 // Search teams looked for two missing people in the smoldering debris from a massive Colorado wildfire while people who escaped the flames sorted through the charred remnants of their homes to find what was...

Climate Change, New Construction Mean More Destructive Wildfires in West

Jan 3 2022 // The winter grassland fire that blew up along Colorado’s Front Range was rare, experts say, but similar events will be more common in the coming years as climate change warms the planet – sucking the moisture out of...

Judge Holds Skanska Negligent for Barge Damage During Florida Hurricane

Dec 30 2021 // A federal judge has found that Skanksa USA, part of one of the largest construction companies in the world, failed to secure its barges before a 2020 Florida hurricane hit. The ruling opens the door to hundreds of lawsuits...

More Minor Earthquakes Shake Parts of South Carolina

Dec 30 2021 // Six more minor earthquakes were reported in South Carolina this week, potentially raising new demand for earthquake insurance.The U.S. Geological Survey said that Wednesday’s 2.3 magnitude earthquake hit around 4:12...

Machine Learning Improves Lightning Prediction, Leading to Insight on a Key Wildfire Spark

Dec 29 2021 // Lightning’s destructive potential was showcased in 2020 when it sparked the massive California Lightning Complex fires, but it remains hard to predict.According to a new study led by the University of Washington,...

Western Kansas Ranches Face Long Recovery after Wildfires

Dec 28 2021 // Ranchers in western Kansas have begun to recover from the deadly wildfires that torched their land earlier this month, but they acknowledge it will be a long process.Two men died and the Kansas Forest Service estimates...

NWS Says December Storm Spawned 8 Tornadoes Across Wisconsin

Dec 28 2021 // The National Weather Service has confirmed a rare December wind storm spawned eight tornadoes across west-central Wisconsin..The Dec. 15 storm swept across multiple states. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the...

Earthquake Confirmed in Submerged Volcano South of Hawaii

Dec 28 2021 // A magnitude-4.9 earthquake struck a submerged volcano south of Hawaii’s Big Island last week, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirmed.said the temblor hit at 1:32 a.m. about 26 miles southeast of Naalehu, at a...

Federal Relief Funding Available in Five Arkansas Counties Following Tornadoes

Dec 27 2021 // President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Arkansas, making federal relief funding available in five north eastern counties hit by tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest and South this month.The declaration...

As Strongest Storm to Hit Philippines in 2021, Typhoon Rai ‘Exceeded All Predictions’

Dec 22 2021 // SINGAPORE – The rapid intensification that turned this week’s Typhoon Rai into the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year surpassed all predictions, forecasters said, leaving nearly 400 people dead and...

Active 2021 Hurricane Season Revealed ‘Unsettling’ Trends: AIR Worldwide

Dec 22 2021 // The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active on record and the sixth consecutive year of above-average hurricane activity. Still, the overall season was mostly in line with the updated 30-year average,...