Latest news with #EatonFire
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Los Angeles fires, US storms dominate insurance losses in first half of 2025.
People attempt to save a neighboring home from catching fire as a home burns during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Jan 8. SINGAPORE – The first half of 2025 is among the most costly periods for the insurance industry, with disasters in the US, including wildfires in Los Angeles in January, dominating natural disaster losses across the planet, Munich Re said on July 29. The global re-insurer said the first six months' total losses from natural disasters were about US$131 billion (S$168 billion), of which US$80 billion was insured – the second highest of any half-year period since 1980, according to the company's records. About half of this, or US$40 billion, was due to the record wildfires that swept across parts of Los Angeles. 'Climate change is shifting more and more the probabilities of extreme weather,' said Munich Re chief climate scientist Tobias Grimm. He said the trend from climate change-linked losses was increasing. The good news was that much more could be done to reduce the risks and costs to insurance companies and their customers. Weather disasters caused 88 per cent of overall losses and 98 per cent of insured losses during the first half of the year, while earthquakes accounted for 12 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, Munich Re said. Losses from severe storms, including tornadoes, in the US totalled US$34 billion in the first six months of 2025, with about US$26 billion of this being insured. Losses in the Asia-Pacific and Africa totalled around US$29 billion, of which about US$5 billion was insured. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Online platforms have halved time it takes for Singaporeans to be self-radicalised: ISD Asia Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap; 30 killed, over 80,000 evacuated Asia Meeting between Cambodian-Thai militaries postponed, as acting Thai PM says border calm Singapore NDP 2025: Enhanced security measures to be put in place around the Padang Business SIA shares tumble after 59% first-quarter profit slide Singapore Motorcyclist hurt after car crashes into bollard next to Clementi coffee shop Sport World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro among list of top names for Singapore football coach The deadliest non-climate linked disaster was the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar on March 28 that killed 4,500 people. It caused US$12 billion in damage but only a small percentage of this was insured. A May 2025 report by the Geneva Association, a global association of insurance companies, said annual insured losses have exceeded US$100 billion annually for every year since 2020 and are expected to surpass US$200 billion in 2025. In 2024, they were about US$140 billion. The risks from wildfires were growing not only in their intensity and size but also affecting areas that were less vulnerable before, such as the recent wildfires in South Korea, said Mr Grimm. Thunderstorms, flash floods and tropical storms were also growing in intensity and affecting more people and places and costing insurers more. In the United States, the National Weather Service has already issued more than 3,600 flash flood warnings across the nation in 2025, and the number could soon exceed its yearly average of around 4,000 flash flood warnings, said Jeffrey Basara, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in The Conversation news site on July 24. A July 4 flash flood in Texas Hill Country killed nearly 140 people, including more than two dozen children. Mr Grimm told The Straits Times that another area of growing concern is the risk from rock falls and glacial lake outbursts, pointing to the glacier collapse on May 28 in the Swiss Alps, which triggered a massive landslide that destroyed the village of Blatten. He said the risk of similar events is growing as a warming planet speeds up the melting of glaciers in mountain areas, including the Himalayas. This can also cause the creation of glacial lakes that fill up quickly behind a dam caused by a rockfall. When the dam bursts, a deadly torrent of mud and rock wipes out everything in its path. The increasing impacts of extreme weather is driving up insurance costs or leading to no coverage at all in some places, triggering falling property prices and banks denying mortgage approvals. 'For example, in Australia, 15 per cent of properties face affordability stress, while in some parts of the US and Canada, rising risks and regulatory pressures to cap premiums have forced insurers to limit or cease coverage for some perils,' the Geneva Association said. In large parts of Asia, the problem is lack of coverage altogether because it was not offered or was too costly, with repeat disasters entrenching poverty. One of the key reasons insurance losses have risen over the years is because of the growing wealth and population of nations and the increasing size and density of cities. In other words, more assets and more people placed in the way of floods, storms and wildfires. Add in the rising impacts of climate change and this raises the chances of deadly and costly disasters. In Los Angeles, some homes were in forested areas or canyons highly prone to wildfires. Elsewhere, cities have expanded on to flood plains or coastal areas prone to storm damage. Plenty can be done to reduce the risks. Key is getting out of harm's way. 'To reduce future exposure, new building development should not be allowed in high-risk areas,' said Munich Re management board member Thomas Blunck in a statement accompanying the first-half loss report. Other steps include better building codes, early warning systems, strengthening existing infrastructure and building new infrastructure that can better withstand worsening floods, storms and fires, as well as better understanding of evolving climate risks by the public, governments and local councils. 'Embedding climate risks in all aspects of the property markets could help to make these markets more sustainable in the long run. A lot more can be done in this regard,' Mr Grimm said.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
Southern California marks 6 months since devastating wildfires
As the death toll from January's historic and devastating Southern California wildfires continues to rise with the discovery of additional human remains, many residents are still struggling to get back on their feet. More than six months later, the public and private resources for the thousands of residents forced to start new lives right after the new year are dwindling. The Palisades and Eaton Fires destroyed about 16,000 homes. Palisades victims are going after the city of Los Angeles in court over the fire response and the lack of water. Eaton victims are targeting SoCal Edison, saying the utility company's equipment may be linked to the start of the fire. Of the 31 people confirmed dead in the blazes, only one other person has yet to be identified. That person's remains were recovered on Jan. 14, on the 600 block of Lomas Avenue in Pacific Palisades. This yet-to-be-identified person has since been added to L.A. County's ongoing list of victims from January's wildfires. The current tally is 31 deaths, including 12 in the Palisades Fire and now 19 in the Eaton Fire. This is the first new wildfire victim located since April 2. The Medical Examiner's Office relies on complex scientific methods to identify human remains, which are typically in poor condition from the fires. Scientists utilize dental records, DNA comparison, radiographs, prosthetic serial numbers and other techniques to identify any remains that come into their possession.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
When cooks lose their dream kitchens
Their custom-built homes, each with kitchens tailored for their specific cooking needs, burned in the Eaton Fire. But through the loss, cookbook author Molly Baz and novelist/food writer Michelle Huneven have found renewed appreciation for friends and family.
Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
California Utility Company Offers Direct Compensation to Victims of Eaton Fire Amid Lawsuits, Investigation
Southern California Edison (SCE) is offering to directly pay victims of the Eaton Fire, the company said on July 23. The offer comes amid dozens of lawsuits filed against the utility company after videos surfaced showing a blaze igniting under one of its transmission lines on Jan. 7, the day the fire broke out.
Japan Today
5 days ago
- General
- Japan Today
LA fires charred homes into piles of metal and concrete. By recycling them, they're given new life
Debris from January wildfires is processed at a recycling facility set up on a golf course in Altadena, Calif. By DORANY PINEDA Candace Frazee recently walked through the burnt remains of The Bunny Museum, searching for anything that could be salvaged before workers cleared the land. The Eaton Fire in Southern California in January scorched more than 60,000 bunny objects and memorabilia, leaving behind mounds of ash, steel and concrete littered across the landscape. Giant bunny statues that once greeted guests were left just wiry, hollow skeletons. Her home in the back was also gone. Yet amid the debris, there are valuable materials being redeemed: Metal, concrete and some trees are being recycled and given new life. 'It's fantastic. It's absolutely fantastic,' said Frazee of recycling the materials, who co-founded the museum with her husband. 'That's the right thing to do.' After the Palisades and Eaton fires scorched entire neighborhoods, the Army Corps of Engineers set up operations to recycle concrete and metal from mostly fire-damaged homes. Metal is compacted and concrete is crushed, then trucked to recycling facilities before re-entering the supply chain for future uses. And some trees and shrubs are processed and sold. 'A lot of this material can be reused in future construction, and that's just good for the environment,' said Col. Sonny Avichal, an Army Corps commander for the Eaton Fire. 'And so there is definitely this notion of, you know, a lot of the stuff that we're able to recover will actually come back and help rebuild Altadena.' The agency said these operations have sped up recovery efforts, reduced waste going to landfills and helped lower the number of trucks on the road, but they've also sparked some worries. Residents have raised concerns that the work produces or kick up particles into the air. The Army Corps maintains they're ensuring operations are safe by monitoring air quality and continually watering the sites to minimize dust. A large dump truck filled with wiry and garbled steel arrived at an Altadena golf course that had been partially burned. The metal pulled from fire-destroyed properties was compacted here before being trucked to a recycling facility where it can be melted, cast and resold. A steel beam can become a steel beam again, or be morphed into a car door or roof panel. Across the globe, the steel industry represents an estimated 8% of planet-warming emissions, and just 1 to 2 % in the U.S. — the fourth largest steel producer. And according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, a trade association, recycled steel doesn't lose its quality. Annually, some 60 to 80 million tons of steel scrap are recycled into new products in North America. Every refrigerator that's recycled reduces 215 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the group's estimates. 'Steel is infinitely recyclable,' said Adina Renee Adler, executive director of the Global Steel Climate Council, an industry group working to reduce carbon emissions. 'It is, in fact, the most recycled material out of everything that we have.' Adler hopes people who lost homes to the fires will feel a glimmer of hope knowing some of those materials will be given new life. That could be for somebody else, somewhere else, or to build their own homes anew. The concrete that arrived to these sites is pulverized into large concrete chunks piled 10 feet (3.05 meters) high into inch-and-a-half and 3 inch pieces before being trucked to local construction materials companies. In its new form, concrete can be used to elevate ground in construction sites, for example, or provide a base layer before pavement is applied, or be used to create concrete again. Making concrete is responsible for roughly 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 2% in the U.S., most of which come from producing and processing its predecessor, cement. That's because coal and other fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases when burned, are the main energy sources for making cement, and the actual chemical reaction that occurs when producing it also releases planet-warming emissions, said Ben Skinner, a manager on the cement and concrete team with RMI, a group working to accelerate the clean energy transition. But recycling concrete doesn't substantially lower its carbon footprint, he added. It does, however, have 'great environmental impacts' because it reduces the extraction of new raw materials when it's turned into aggregate — stuff like sand or gravel used to make concrete — while still producing high quality material. It also keeps waste from going to landfills. Large trees were knocked onto homes and parkways from the same powerful winds that sent fires out of control, and the infernos scorched canopies. Trees that fell into ash get sent to landfills. Others that are still standing and pose a safety risk are cut down. Some logs are sent to local mills to be manufactured into lumber that can be used in the rebuilding process. Others are mulched to become soil amendment, the name for organic matter added to soil to improve its quality, then sold to companies and farmers, said Matthew Long, senior program manager for Environmental Chemical Corporation, the contractor running the operations. Long has done fire recovery work for nearly a decade — including in Hawaii after the Lahaina fires and other California blazes in 2017 and 2018. 'It's really rewarding work,' he said. 'You're interacting with someone who lost everything daily and helping them move to the next step of recovery.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
