Last week's catastrophic bad weather along the East Coast, which included tornados and hail storms, has caused hundreds of millions in insurance claims to be filed, leaving insurance companies and independents scrambling to address the sudden workload.

Officials in Georgia said that the city of Atlanta was the most significantly affected area, due to a Category EF-2 tornado that touched down in the city's downtown area, the first time a tornado has struck the city since record keeping began. A tornado of this class can average up to 135 mph wind speeds.

John Oxendine, the state's insurance and safety fire commissioner, said in a statement that estimated insured losses for the city could reach as high as $250 million, much of it stemming from commercial policies for the buildings located in this dense region. The World Congress Center — the fourth largest convention center in the U.S. — reportedly took the brunt of the tornado strike and suffered up to $100 million in damages.

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