natural disaster News

Climate Change a Factor in ‘Unprecedented’ South Asia Floods

SYLHET, Bangladesh (AP) — Scientists say climate change is a factor behind the erratic and early rains that triggered unprecedented floods in Bangladesh and northeastern India, killing dozens and making lives miserable for millions of others. Although the region is …

Musk’s Starlink Connects Remote Tonga Villages Still Cut Off After Tsunami

SYDNEY —Elon Musk’s satellite venture has launched a free high-speed internet service to connect remote villages in Tonga that have been cut off since a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in January. Tonga’s prime minister, Siaosi Sovaleni, said in a …

Floods Top of Mind as Canadian PM Trudeau Outlines Priorities to Parliament

OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will add rebuilding from British Columbia’s devastating floods to his list of priorities when he outlines plans on Tuesday for the new parliamentary session, which include firmer measures to fight climate change. Trudeau’s …

Canada Struggles to Reach 18,000 Stranded by Flood Waters

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia — Canada was still trying to reach 18,000 people stranded on Thursday after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and bridges in what could be the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history. Receding flood waters were …

Claims Process ‘Challenging’ as Insurers Suffer Record Winter Losses, Aon Says

US insurers suffered record-breaking winter storm losses during the first quarter of 2021 while also grappling with several high-profile cyberattacks, according to a report released Thursday by Aon. Maybe claims departments are becoming a little testy. Aon’s quarterly Global Market …

Never Mind COVID, 2020 Was a Catastrophe for US Insurers

In case you forgot, the year that just passed brought an unprecedented number of catastrophes — not to mention COVID-19. Three insurance industry reports issued this week chronicle just how bad 2020 was for property insurers. CoreLogic released a chronology …

Fiji Imposes Curfew as it Prepares for Major Cyclone to Hit

SUVA, Fiji (AP) — Fiji imposed a nationwide curfew Thursday after urging people near the coast to move to higher ground as the island nation prepared for a major cyclone to hit. Cyclone Yasa was expected to hit the two …

Hurricane Eta Lumbers Toward Nicaragua, Bringing Deadly Rain

Hurricane Eta is battering Nicaragua with violent wind and devastating rain as it lumbers toward shore, threatening to trigger deadly floods and landslides. The storm, one of the Atlantic’s most powerful of the year, is packing winds of 145 miles …

Pacific Hurricane Forecast Complicated by Coronavirus

HONOLULU — The Central Pacific basin including Hawaii should expect to see between two and six tropical storms or hurricanes this year, federal forecasters said Wednesday. The annual National Weather Service prediction came as wary Hawaii residents begin to emerge …

How to Plan for a Disaster During a Disaster

On March 5, Tennessee governor Bill Lee announced the state’s first confirmed case of Covid-19. Three weeks later on Easter Sunday, tornadoes touched down outside of Chattanooga, killing four people and flattening 2,000 structures. Since the start of the pandemic, …