natural disaster News

Get Ready for More, Longer Blackouts

By mid-Monday morning, storms sweeping north from the Gulf Coast had left more than 1.3 million out of power in the U.S. Under normal circumstances, this would have called for the mass mobilization of crews to get the lights back …

Tornado-Hit Tenn. Historic Buildings Face Difficult Choice

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Property owners affected by the tornadoes earlier this month now face two options: rebuild or bulldoze. The storms damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses throughout Middle Tennessee. And historic buildings will require extra care. Just …

Viewpoint: The Coronavirus May Be Worse Than a Natural Disaster

Everyone is wondering when China will return to work. While it may be tempting to consider past epidemics or labor strikes to gauge how quickly that could happen, the industrial shutdown from the coronavirus is looking more like a natural …

Trial to Begin Over Arkema Chemical Plant Fire During Harvey

HOUSTON — Hurricane Harvey’s historic flooding in 2017 overwhelmed power systems at Arkema Inc.’s chemical plant in suburban Houston, eventually causing organic peroxides made at the facility to catch fire and explode, sending noxious black smoke into the air. The …

Typhoon-Lashed Philippines Taps Catastrophe Bonds

The Philippines, among the world’s most disaster-prone nations, sold its maiden foreign-currency catastrophe-linked bonds to help cover costs of major calamities, in conjunction with the World Bank. The dual-tranche transaction consists of a $150 million issuance against losses from, , …

Hurricane Recovery in U.S. Virgin Islands Lags Puerto Rico’s

Puerto Rico’s economy has shown considerable signs of improvement after the hit form hurricanes Irma and Maria two years ago, while the U.S. Virgin Islands economy remains “mired in a deep slump.” That’s the finding in new report by the …

Florida, California Towns Lack Path to Safety From Storms, Fires

Florida and California, two states with wide exposure to natural disasters, lack critical evacuation routes in some areas for residents to flee. Among the 100 American communities with the most-constrained evacuation routes, 20 are in Florida and 14 in California, …

CoreLogic: Wildfires, Floods Dominated Natural Hazards in 2017

Last year’s weather hazards reflected a mostly average season, with the exception of wildfires in California and flooding as a result of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to CoreLogic’s annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis released last week. The …

A Refresher on the Named Storm Deductible

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused massive devastation to Texas and Florida and now frustration for policyholders, their attorneys and public adjusters due to the named storm deductible on some policies. This week Cozen O’Connor hosted a webinar to provide a …

Home Inventories Can Cut Claim Processing Time by 50%

Wild weather has become more common with climate change, the experts say, and homeowners can prepare for natural disasters by making home inventories – detailed lists of household belongings and their approximate value. Making a home inventory can be easy; …