By the Numbers: Storm Damage Aftermath

Property insurance losses from the deadliest U.S. natural catastrophe since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are estimated at $2B to $5B, according to CAT modeling experts, prompting President Barack Obama on Friday to pledge federal aid to the tornado-ravaged U.S. South.

The deadly twisters took the lives of at least 339 people. Last Wednesday alone, there were more than 160 tornados that ripped a patch across seven states. The city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama was especially hard hit. Since the storms, the U.S. National Weather Service surveyed the event, classifying the largest tornado as an“EF-5.”

After touring the devastated area and meeting survivors, Obama told reporters in Tuscaloosa, a university city in Alabama that was devastated by the tornadoes, "We are going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild." George W. Bush, Obama’s predecessor, received heavy public criticism for being slow to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

In Alabama, officials raised the death toll from the tornadoes to 238. Authorities said at least 1,700 people were injured. Additionally, at least 101 more deaths were reported across Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana.

In Georgia, 16 counties were declared disaster areas, and the state estimates the cost of insured losses from storms and tornadoes last week at $75 million, the state insurance department said on Monday.

According to statements issued by modeling expert AIR Worldwide, modeling losses from actual severe thunderstorm events in real time continues to be a challenging task. The systems are made up sometimes of hundreds of "microevents" (individual tornadoes, hailstorms, and straight-line windstorms). These events typically are of short duration—often lasting only minutes—and more often than not, they occur out of the range of weather stations or anemometers. Data capturing these events is hard to map for future event risk prediction.

Another catastrophe-risk modeler, EQECAT, noted that the recent tornado outbreak is estimated to have caused $2 billion to $5 billion in insured losses.

Reports indicate the number of destroyed buildings is approaching 10,000 from more than 350 reported tornadoes the last two weeks, adds EQECAT.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. told the Wall Street Journal that it had received 4,200 home-insurance claims through midday Friday from Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, the majority from Alabama. It had 12,740 auto claims, about 9,600 of those in Tennessee where the tornadoes spawned hailstorms, notes WSJ.

The tornadic activity that occurred on April 22 in St. Louis is a telling reminder of what insurers face in terms of claims. Insurance regulators in Missouri report that major homeowners and auto insurance companies in the state have received close to 7,000 claims from St. Louis residents with damage from that tornado.

The Missouri Department of Insurance released the following information from the most recent storms.

• Homeowners insurance claims: 4,490

• Auto insurance claims: 2,245

• Commercial property claims: 240

• Buildings with large or total losses: 137

• Total claims: 6,975

Meanwhile, AIR said it will continue to monitor the 2011 severe thunderstorm season as it progresses, and insurers moved quickly to set up claims areas in spots hardest hit by the tornadoes in the South.

The president of the Insurance Information Institute, Bob Hartwig, said that in spite of record losses, insurers are prepared financially, with adequate capital resources.