Disaster
PG&E offers storm preparation tips as strong weather system approaches
PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC – A powerful storm carrying heavy rain and strong winds is forecast to hit California Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Wind gusts up to 45 to 50 mph and rainfall totals between 0.5” and 1.5” are [...]
Hurricane Katrina-spawned free flood clean-up manual now valuable for Hurricane Irene victims
When floods from one of the nation's worst natural disasters subsided, agencies got to work producing a guide to help clean up water-logged homes and prepare them for
How to keep Irene out of your house
Big, blustery Hurricane Irene is barreling up the East Coast and she's got her eye on your home. And when she sits around your house, she sits around your
Homeowner associations’ special disaster preparedness needs
If you live in a condo, townhome or other community governed by homeowners association (HOA), take a lesson from Judy Rosen who lives in a 70-unit HOA in
Claims attorney gives retooled GCCF high marks
By Peter Taaffe, Attorney Buzbee Law Firm © 2010 HomeAway.com The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) has been up and running since August 23, 2010. The operation hit some snags
NPFC also accepts oil spill claims, but for lump sum payments
Vacation rental owners facing delays or denials in response to claims for lost income due to the Gulf oil disaster, have another, sort of "court of appeals" --
GCCF claims process deteriorates since takeover from BP
Forget the promise from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) head who said you'd have your claim paid within 48 hours. Don't expect the new claims facility to maintain
Oil spill sinks home prices, sales
As predicted, and only four months after the onset of the Gulf oil disaster, the event is taking a toll on the housing market, as some coastal areas
San Bruno fire kills 6, destroys 53 homes
A massive fire roared through a mostly residential neighborhood in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno after reports of a large gas line
Agencies warn of oil spill scams
Scam artists follow the headlines, and with one as big as the Gulf oil disaster, you can bet they are making the rounds. Federal and state agencies are warning
Making the case for lost-property-value claims in the Gulf oil disaster zone
With real estate properties along the Gulf Coast oil disaster zone expected to suffer value losses ranging from 10 to 30 percent or more, some efforts are afoot
Vacation rental owners’ hard lesson from the Gulf oil front
Improved oil well safety protocols and faster disaster response aren't the only lessons to be learned from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Some vacation property owners in the
Gulf Coast homeowners get mortgage relief
With livelihoods and home values threatened by the Gulf oil disaster, its a good thing lenders and others are coming forth to offer special relief for homeowners. Fannie Mae
More bad news for Gulf area home values
Much of the nation is poised to recover from the worst housing downturn since the Great Depression, but the Gulf of Mexico area's housing markets could be in
HomeAway helps Gulf area vacation property owners brace for oil spill fallout
After an April 20 explosion and fire ruptured an oil well and sank the BP operated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 5,000 feet down in the Gulf of Mexico,
Largest quake event ever, luckily, only a drill
The statewide drill occurred two days before the 20th anniversary of the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta Earthquake which killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured nearly 4,000 and
Three degrees of earthquake preparation
Great San Francisco Earthquake at Post and Grant streets.If an earthquake, similar in size and origin to the April 18, 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake hit the same
Quake shake wake up call in Silicon Valley
We've gone offbeat!Quick! Click my head!The northern California quake followed a swarm of southern California quakes, including a magnitude 4.0 shaker days earlier near Bombay Beach, CA. The
It’s not winter yet, but brace yourself
If this fall's killer storms are any indication of the long, frigid winter ahead, preparation is the name of the game. An impatient Mother Nature didn't wait around for
The legacy of living in a hot spot
California's largest residential evacuation ever – some 1 million Southern California residents fleeing more than a dozen wildfires churning smoke and burning embers this week – is a














