Property Claim Services said it has declared both the April 28Virginia tornado outbreak and the May 1 to May 2 twisters in inKansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas as an insurancecatastrophe events.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for State Farm, which has a 20 percentshare of the home insurance market in Virginia, said the company asof Thursday had received claims for 260 damaged homes, some ofwhich were totally destroyed.

Gary Kerney, assistant vice president of Property Claim Servicesat Insurance Services Office in Jersey City, N.J., said "PCSassigned a catastrophe serial number to the damage caused by theVirginia tornado outbreak. Serial No. 37 identifies damage fromwind and tornadoes in Virginia and possibly other areas on April 28as a catastrophe. The PCS preliminary estimate of insured propertydamage is not yet available."

PCS also did not have a damage estimate for catastrophe No. 38involving damage caused by the severe weather that hit in Kansas,Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and possibly other areas.

PCS generally qualifies a catastrophe as an event that causes$25 million or more in insured losses.

Information related to Friday's tornado, which struck Arkansas,is not presently available, according to a PCS spokesperson.

Insurance Information Institute said more than 140 homes andseveral buildings, including a hospital, were destroyed by thethree twisters that hit Suffolk, Va., and two towns close toRichmond.

In 16 Arkansas counties tornadoes and storms destroyed 350 homesand businesses, killing at least seven people and injuring 13,I.I.I. said.

State Farm said that it appears that 10 tornadoes hit Arkansasprimarily in rural farmland areas. As of midday Monday, the companysaid it had recorded 250 claims and expected more to come in .

Spokesman Gary Stephenson said the hardest hit areas appeared tobe the municipalities of Greers Ferry and Carlisle.

The Institute noted that each year about 1,200 tornadoes withwind speeds as high as 300 mph touch down in the United States.Though not generally as destructive as hurricanes, tornadoes aremore frequent and can also cause severe damage.

This article updated May 6, 8:48 a.m.