ISO: Tornadoes Hit Catastrophe Level

ISO: Tornadoes Hit Catastrophe Level

By Daniel Hays

NU Online News Service, April 30, 2:09 p.m. EST? Killer tornadoes that careened through 13 states from Missouri to Maryland last Sunday caused insured losses at a catastrophe level, the Insurance Services Office said today.

The weather event, which caused three reported deaths, did insured property damage of between $100 million and $200 million, Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO said.

In addition to the twisters, the severe weather was accompanied by flooding and hail, noted Dave Dasgupta, an ISO representative. He said the track through the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys to the Mid-Atlantic region did its worst damage in the states of Maryland, Kentucky and Illinois.

In Maryland, the city of La Plata was under police curfew last night after a tornado tore off roofs and obliterated the downtown area. Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening declared states of emergency in Calvert and Charles Counties. The declaration makes them eligible for state aid.

Among the deaths was a 12-year-old boy who was killed after a tornado with 180 miles-per-hour winds swept him up and dropped him to the ground in Marble Hill, Mo., south of St. Louis, weather officials said. In Dongala, a Southern Illinois town, a woman was killed.