Weather
Florida’s insurer of last resort faces hurricane season with reinsurance coverage shortfall
With multiple insurers cancelling policies in Florida, Citizens has been absorbing stranded policyholders at the rate of about 6,000 per week.
Amid property insurance crisis, mobile home owners and hurricane shelters get some attention
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Overshadowed by the statewide crisis in Florida’s property-insurance market, legislation to make mobile homes and manufactured homes safer during strong storms was signed into law Wednesday. The new law also lets state funding be used not only for retrofitting of hurricane shelters but also for construction of new ones. Sponsored by Palm […]
Summer hurricanes, wildfires and storms loom as FEMA faces pressure to step up
WASHINGTON — Another grueling summer disaster season is arriving, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is under intense pressure even as its portfolio balloons, it pleads for more money from Congress and criticism comes on several fronts. The agency manages more than 300 disaster declarations a year, a dramatic increase from the average of 108 […]
NOAA forecasts busy Atlantic hurricane season, with at least 3 major storms
WASHINGTON — The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be the seventh in a row with an above-normal number of storms, according to a forecast the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Tuesday. NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said the agency expects there will be between 14 and 21 named storms, with six to 10 […]
Louisiana lawmakers ponder gasoline stockpile for hurricanes
Louisiana already has 1 million gallons of fuel available if needed for its hurricane response efforts. State lawmakers are considering setting aside another 4 million gallons to address critical shortages in the wake of major storms. Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Hessmer, has proposed the Louisiana Strategic Fuel Reserve in House Bill 1057. It calls for the […]
Not surprisingly, recent hurricanes lead to more insurance complaints
Complaints to the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) soared following major hurricanes over the past two years, with homeowners reporting delays with claims leading the way, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report released Monday. State lawmakers requested the audit, which used LDI data, after hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020 and Ida in 2021 impacted […]
2022 hurricane season: Loop Current forecast looks a lot like 2005
The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and the Gulf of Mexico is already warmer than average. Even more worrying is a current of warm tropical water that is looping unusually far into the Gulf for this time of year, with the power to turn tropical storms into monster hurricanes. It’s called the […]
Survey shows Louisiana residents worry about losses from hurricane damage
The Louisiana Department of Insurance shows people closest to the coast pay from $1,800 to $12,000 for baseline coverage for homeowner’s insurance annually compared to the national average of $1,300.
Entergy proposes its customers cover cost of backup generators for businesses
Entergy has proposed a new project to give backup generators to grocery stores and other commercial customers across the state to form micro-grids that can be used during outages and peak demand times, but the utility company wants the rest of its customers to pay for them. Entergy would also be able to run the […]
Nearly $250 million in spending unresolved in Louisiana’s storm response programs since 2008
Officials say they have addressed most of the issues uncovered in the audits. But even with that high success rate, they $246 million in reimbursements to local governments over the past 14 years have not been verified to determine if the money was correctly spent or accurately calculated.
Renters would be protected from eviction after hurricanes under Louisiana proposal
Louisiana lawmakers are looking to help renters avoid the situation tenants in the path of Hurricane Ida faced last year.
Louisiana to receive another $1.7B for hurricane recovery from feds
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that Louisiana will receive an additional $1.27 billion in recovery resources for areas affected in Hurricane Ida last year and another $450 million for southwest Louisiana, where hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated the affordable housing stock in 2020. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced the […]