Hurricane Michael News

U.S. Forecasters Predict Near Average 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season

U.S. forecasters expect the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season beginning June 1 to be near average in the number and intensity of storms, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday. The forecasters estimate between two and …

Hurricane Michael Damages Linger for Georgia Timber Industry

ATLANTA — Georgia’s timber industry is facing many headwinds as it seeks to recover from the severe damage wrought by Hurricane Michael late last year. The storm erased three-quarters of a billion dollars in timber, The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. Aside …

Mexico Beach Town Still Recovering After Hurricane Michael

Saralyn Harder’s short commute to a temporary job in a barbecue food truck at the edge of a Florida town winds through a paradise violently deconstructed. The palm trees, blanched by salt water, have turned brown and yellow. Dirty sand …

Reflecting on the 2018 Hurricane Season

While 2018 was an active hurricane season, it wasn’t quite as bad as some years past. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season broke several records, with six reaching Category 3 or stronger. In addition, it …

J.D. Power: Insurers Gain High Marks After Hurricanes Florence, Michael

After the two recent billion-dollar disasters struck the southeast this fall, the nation’s largest property/casualty insurers responded by deploying their CAT response teams to the affected areas. J.D. Power surveyed consumers affected by the storms to understand which insurance companies …

Georgia Hurricane Michael Insured Losses Near $700M

Georgia’s insured losses from Hurricane Michael have climbed to more than $696 million, with insurers reporting approximately 68,000 claims filed as of the end of October, according to a press release from Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens. The estimate is based …

#Resilience: How Zurich Used Social Media to Respond to Customers Affected by Hurricane Michael

You might think that when a major hurricane makes landfall in the United States, Zurich North America employees have more important things to do than to peruse Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For the most part, that’s true. But a small …

Utility Disaster Fund Helps Pay for Outside Crews, Equipment and Supplies

Gulf Power has a disaster fund to pay for the thousands of out-of-state linemen and extra equipment needed to rebuild Bay County’s electrical system after Hurricane Michael. But whether that fund can cover the whole recovery cost isn’t yet known. …

Devastating Hurricanes Spur Attention on Disaster Preparation

Hurricane Michael’s devastation could spur policymakers to better prepare vulnerable communities for the effects of climate change. The images of entire towns in Florida’s panhandle all but erased by storm surges, as well as accounts of bodies pulled from shattered …

Michael Highlights Florida Panhandle’s Weak Building Codes

Unlike in South Florida, homes in the state’s Panhandle did not have tighter building codes until just 11 years ago; it was once argued that acres of forests would provide the region with a natural barrier against the savage winds …