storm surge News

New Models Aim to Better Predict Storm Surge, Insured Losses From Hurricanes

Two new hurricane forecast models promise to help property owners and insurers better predict the losses from storms that may be increasing in intensity as ocean waters continue to warm. The National Hurricane Center announced just ahead of the 2023 …

Super Typhoon Mawar Passes over Guam as Category 4 Storm

HONOLULU (AP) – Typhoon Mawar barreled into Guam as a powerful Category 4 storm Wednesday, pummeling the U.S. Pacific territory with high winds, heavy rains and a dangerous storm surge that swamped low-lying areas as residents hunkered down in homes …

How Coconuts Protect the Jersey Shore, Other Eroding Coasts

NEPTUNE, N.J. (AP) — Coastal communities around the world are adding a tropical twist to shoreline protection, courtesy of the humble coconut. From the sands of the Jersey Shore to the islands of Indonesia, strands of coconut husk, known as …

House Advances Giant Texas Storm Surge Project in Water Bill

HOUSTON (AP) — Fourteen years after Hurricane Ike ripped through thousands of homes and businesses near Galveston, Texas — but mostly spared the region’s oil refineries and chemical plants — the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to authorize the …

Nicole Aims at Bahamas, Likely to Reach Florida as Hurricane

Nicole has strengthened into a tropical storm as it bears down on the Bahamas and is expected to become a hurricane before reaching Florida by early Thursday. The storm was about 350 miles (563 kilometers) northeast of the northwestern Bahamas …

Subtropical Storm Nicole Could Hit Eastern Florida This Week

Subtropical Storm Nicole is forecast to come ashore in southeastern Florida as a Category 1 hurricane bringing a surge of water and flooding rains, including to areas still recovering from Hurricane Ian. Nicole, with top winds of 45 miles (72 …

NFIP: 43,000 Flood Claims and $273 Million Paid So Far After Hurricane Ian

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reminding flood insurance policyholders hit by Hurricane Ian that they have an extra three months to renew their expiring policies. The agency said last week that Florida property owners with National Flood Insurance Program …

Florida Building Codes Made a Big Difference for Newer Homes in Ian, Reports Show

In the hardest-hit parts of southwest Florida, many newer structures survived remarkably intact in Hurricane Ian’s winds, suggesting that updated Florida building codes are making a difference in reducing property losses, according to early assessments. “From what I saw, the …

Lessons from Hurricane Michael Being Applied to Ian Recovery

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Four years before Category 4 Ian wiped out parts of southwest Florida, the state’s Panhandle had its own encounter with an even stronger hurricane, Michael. The Category 5 storm all but destroyed one town, fractured …

KCC Projects Hurricane Ian Losses Will Top $60 Billion

Catastrophe modeler Karen Clark & Co. said Friday that Hurricane Ian will generate nearly $63 billion in losses to private insurers, which would make it the second-most expensive hurricane ever when compared to other estimates. “Hurricane Ian will be a …