Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, allows certain insurers to avoid the five-year waiting period before they can write policies in Alabama. To qualify, they must submit a $1 million deposit to the state and be approved by the insurance commissioner.  Full story »

"The energy contained in a hurricane is related to the amount of moisture in the storm. We call it moisture flux," Gutman said. "It's the exchange of moisture in the open ocean, and the exchange of moisture between the oceans and the atmosphere that determines whether or not there is the energy to sustain a storm, to intensify it, to reduce it." Full story »

While the federal flood insurance program is expected to be re-authorized, frustrated insurance agents and Realtors are asking why Congress is treating the program so carelessly by keeping it alive with temporary extensions rather than finish the sweeping overhaul that was launched after Hurricane Katrina.  Full story »

The original system was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and a temporary warning system has been in use since April 2006.  Full story »

BAY MINETTE -- Baldwin County residents should find themselves "in the zone" in the coming weeks as the county's Emergency Management Agency introduces a new storm evacuation map, according to Director Leigh Anne Ryals.  Full story »

Since 2004's Hurricane Ivan, Allstate Corp., Alfa Mutual group, State Farm Fire and Casualty and Farmers have said they would drop at least wind coverage on 51,000 policies in Mobile and Baldwin, by Press-Register counts. That could represent close to one-third of the 159,000 owner-occupied homes counted by the Census Bureau in the two counties. Full story »

As recently as last spring, Gulf Shores was appealing the agency's claims that the city owed more than $13 million spent after the 2004 and 2005 storms to remove sand from city streets and private property and put it back on the beach. Full story »

In a February 2007 report, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's inspector general challenged payments to Clearbrook LLC, a water services company located on Azalea Road, based on "contractual deficiencies, excessive billings and questionable costs" in the course of housing and feeding relief workers at so-called base camps following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Full story »

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, every book was lost -- all 14,000 of them -- and the building itself was nearly lost to the elements under 4 feet of water, said chamber President Debra Jones. Full story »

OXFORD, Ala. -- Oxford defensive tackle Jared Morse says he's chosen to sign with Vanderbilt for one main reason: academics. Full story »

For coastal homeowners and developers, the maps are essential tools in determining where to build and what measures to take to defend against storm surge. As the Press-Register reported in 2007, thousands of people and properties in Alabama may be unwittingly imperiled because out-of-date maps fail to reflect true flood risks. Full story »

GULF SHORES, Ala. -- With a multimillion-dollar beach restoration project still about a year away, city officials are rushing to repair breaches in the berm before the coming hurricane season.  Full story »

Among other lapses between 2005 and 2007, FEMA employees didn't always check to see that those companies fully documented their decisions to pay claims, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency.  Full story »

Principal James Gill, who went to New Orleans on Friday to meet Bush for the second time in two years, said the school will use the money to buy at least 2,000 books, just as it did with a previous grant of $40,000 in 2008.  Full story »

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- As city officials plan the next major beach restoration project, Mayor Tony Kennon said he will rekindle a proposal to charge property owners along Ala. 182 a special assessment to help pay for the work. Full story »