Three hot-air balloons dropped asphalt shingles, lumber, sticks, leaves and pine needles onto a north Alabama landfill, so scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville could gather data needed to improve tornado warnings. The payloads dropped by the balloons …
The world’s biggest insurance company, American International Group Inc. (AIG), posted a big quarterly loss — $7.81 billion — largely due to write-downs related to bad mortgage investments. AIG blamed much of the loss on the continuation of the weak …
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency for five counties following a severe weather system and tornadoes affected parts of North Mississippi on May 2. Thunderstorms with high winds, tornadoes and torrential rains causing damage to homes, businesses, …
The National Weather Service said four weak tornadoes were spawned by a storm system that moved through Tennessee’s Montgomery County in the early morning hours of May 4. One struck Clarksville’s fairgrounds and three other hit in the Palmyra community, …
The cost of damage to Oklahoma homes, businesses and infrastructure from the December 2007 historic ice storm is approaching $180 million, state officials said. Businesses and homeowners have filed more than 30,000 insurance claims totaling more than $54 million in …
The city of Jackson, Miss. revised its damage estimate from the April 4 tornadoes to $5.8 million in a second attempt at getting federal disaster assistance. The city and Hinds County are seeking reimbursement for cleanup costs from the April …
The damage caused in several Virginia localities by tornadoes last week was not enough to qualify victims for federal emergency assistance. Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Bob Spieldenner says teams of local, state and federal representatives have determined the …
Residents of communities across Arkansas on May 2 faced the wreckage of homes torn apart by violent weather that has pushed this year’s storm death toll in the southern state up to 26. “You can see the bags under the …
A report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services analyzes the catastrophe bond and reinsurance sidecar markets, which, S&P concludes, have “experienced sharp surges of activity after 2005.” However the “growth of these insurance-linked securities (ILS) has been slowing since the …
Gov. Dave Heineman signed an emergency declaration for four southeastern Nebraska counties that were hit by a severe storm that spawned at least one tornado. Officials with the state Emergency Management Agency have been assessing damage in Gage, Johnson, Nemaha …