NU Online News Service, July 5, 1:00 p.m.EDT

Windstorms that exploded through the Ohio Valley andmid-Atlantic late last week have left thousands without power andinsurers dealing with an increasing number of claims that arerising into the tens of thousands.

As of today, State Farm counted more than 27,110 totalwindstorm-related claims nationally, with more than 7,000 reportedin Ohio. Nationwide reported a total of more than 15,000 claims,with approximately 5,000 coming from Ohio and more than 3,000 inVirginia.

“Ohio was the worst hit as of Tuesday, but the wholeMid-Atlantic region suffered,” said Anna Brant, State Farmspokesperson. “The majority of the damage came from high windspeeds, damage to trees and to shingles.”

Power outages caused by windstorms on June 29 killed 26 peopleand are expected to persist through Saturday, says Risk ManagementSolutions (RMS).

This morning following Independence Day, Bloomberg reports that 500,000 customers in the mid-Atlanticregion were still without electricity.

Thirteen states have been affected by the derecho, or squallline of fast-forming, long-lived, violent, convective (electrical)storms that travel hundreds of miles at speeds that may top 90 mph.The storms left four million without power in Maryland, Virginia,West Virginia, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and as far west as Iowaand Illinois early this week.

According to the National Oceanographic and AtmosphericInstitute, a derecho produces destruction similar to that of atornado, and can extend its reach of damage for more than 240miles.

The storm system that produced the derecho began in Iowa on June28 and threaded eastward with the National Weather Service StormPrediction Center reporting high wind gusts picking up in 13states. The highest wind speeds were reported at 91 mph at FortWayne International Airport, Ind., and at 81 mph at Tuckerton,N.J.

Barack Obama declared West Virginia a disaster area followingthe storm path, with 230,000 people still waiting to turn on theirair conditioners and refrigerators.

Electric companies continue to work to get the power backon.

Exelon continues to experience disrupted service to 700,000residents of its 4.3 million affected clients along the east coast,said the U.S. Department of Energy, and AEP/Appalachian Power saidthat 100 transmission lines were affected by the storm, although 80percent of service has been restored to distribution stations. AEPOhio may not fully restore power until July 10.

However, Bloomberg says Dominion Resources Inc., in Virginia,restored service to more than 95 percent of its 1 million customersthat had lost power.