Natural disasters cause $210 billion in damage in 2020, insurer says

posted in: Breaking News, News

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Natural catastrophes around the world resulted in $210 billion in damage in 2020, with the United States especially hard hit by hurricanes and wildfires, a top insurer said on Thursday. The damage, tallied by the German reinsurer … Read More

A Running List of Record-Breaking Natural Disasters in 2020

The year has already seen many extremes, from California’s and Colorado’s largest wildfires to a tropical cyclone boom. Smoke hangs low in the air along Highway 236 in Boulder Creek, Calif., on August 22, 2020. The CZU Lightning Complex fires decimated … Read More

Pelosi on wildfires in California and West: ‘Mother Earth is angry’

posted in: Breaking News, News

“The climate crisis is real and has an impact,” the San Francisco Democrat says. There’s a message in the raging wildfires that have scorched her home state of California as well as neighboring states, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Mother Earth is angry,” the … Read More

Even as COVID-19 Poses Huge Challenges to Responders, the Risks for Natural Disasters Are Rising

posted in: News, World News

Abnormally warm sea temperatures are raising the risks for hurricanes, while the central and southeastern U.S. face flooding, and parts of the West are forecast to see heightened wildfire activity. Sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and the Gulf … Read More

Extreme hurricanes and wildfires made 2017 the most costly U.S. disaster year on record

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria combined with devastating Western wildfires and other natural catastrophes to make 2017 the most expensive year on record for disasters in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Monday. The disasters caused $306 billion in … Read More

Insured losses in 2017 most ever at $135 billion after hurricanes

Insurers will have to pay claims of around $135 billion for 2017, a new report shows Insurers will have to pay claims of around $135 billion for 2017, the most ever, following a spate of hurricanes, earthquakes and fires in … Read More

Storms, earthquakes, North Korea and now the Las Vegas massacre. We have to wonder: ‘What’s next?’

When the month began, a confluence of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires and a brewing international nuclear confrontation already had some Americans thinking about End Times. Then Las Vegas, the nation’s playground, witnessed the worst mass shooting in U.S. history — … Read More

Hurricane Maria could be a $95 billion storm for Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria could cost Puerto Rico $45 billion to $95 billion in damage — a devastating blow to the island’s already ailing economy. The high end of the range, released Thursday by Moody’s Analytics, represents almost an entire year’s economic … Read More

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