hurricanes News

Are Billions in Wind Mitigation the Answer for Florida’s Insurance Problems?

While Florida’s property insurance landscape appears to be leveling out, much more funding is needed to fortify homes against hurricane winds and prevent devastating losses for insureds and insurers, a few panelists said at the Florida Chamber’s Insurance Summit last …

US Climate Assessment Lays Out Growing Threats, Opportunities as Temperatures Rise

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Climate change harms Americans physically, mentally and financially, often hitting those who have done the least to cause it, including Black people facing floods in the South and minorities enduring searing heat in cities, a …

Some Houses Are Being Built to Stand Up to Hurricanes and Sharply Cut Emissions, Too

When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson`s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on …

Hurricanes Are Now Twice as Likely to Zip from Minor to Whopper than Decades Ago, Study Says

With warmer oceans serving as fuel, Atlantic hurricanes are now more than twice as likely as before to rapidly intensify from wimpy minor hurricanes to powerful and catastrophic, a study said Thursday. Last month Hurricane Lee went from barely a …

Climate Destruction Fuels Growing Sector of the US Economy

The cost of the climate crisis keeps going up. In terms of damage to the atmosphere and life on Earth, this may seem obvious. But the overall price tag of global warming has long been the subject of debate. Now, …

In a State Used to Hurricanes and Flooding, Louisiana Is Battling an Unprecedented Wildfire Season

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana, typically one of the wettest states in the country, is on fire. In communities often challenged by flooding and hurricanes this time of year, firefighters instead are fending off 300-foot-tall (91.44 meters) blazes during …

Climate Change Is Causing an Insurance Crisis in Louisiana

A little over a year ago, Peter Gardner, a Louisiana developer, completed rehabbing an apartment building with 144 units and got a surprise so ugly it made him decide to move his business out of town. When the project began, …

Fires and Other Disasters are Increasing in Hawaii, According to AP Data Analysis

KIHEI, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane-fueled flash floods and mudslides. Lava that creeps into neighborhoods. Fierce drought that materializes in a flash and lingers. Earthquakes. And now, deadly fires that burn block after historic block. Hawaii is increasingly under siege from …

Hawaii Could See a Big Hurricane Season, but Most Homes Aren’t Ready

HONOLULU (AP) — Jan Pappas and Ronald Yasuda hired a contractor to fasten the roof of their 1960s-era home to their walls with metal plates and nails so high winds of a potential hurricane wouldn`t blow it away. Their motivation? …

Catastrophe Losses Double at Travelers as Insurance Industry and More Regions Absorb Severe Weather

Travelers, considered a bellwether for the insurance industry due to its size, said catastrophe losses doubled in its most recent quarter and the company swung to a loss as severe wind and hailstorms in a number of regions led to …