Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine yesterday increased his estimate of the damage from the weekend tornado that struck Georgia to $250 million.
On Monday he had said it was expected to be between $150 million and $200 million, with at least $100 million occurring at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Describing the tornado, which struck Atlanta Friday, Guy Carpenter's Instrat unit in a CAT-i report said the funnel had moved east through the city center.
The tornado was rated a category EF-1 by the National Weather Service when it touched down at approximately 11:40 p.m. local time.
It intensified to an EF-2 category as it moved through the Vince City neighborhood with winds reaching up to 135 mph, the National Weather Service said.
Roofs were ripped off properties and windows blown out of high-rise buildings in the city center.
The National Weather Service said the twister's length was estimated at 6 miles and it was around 200 yards wide.
Reports said the tornado was the first to touch down in Atlanta since record-keeping began in the 1880s.
A state of emergency was declared in the affected Atlanta area and more than 40,000 people lost power.
Reports said several high-rise hotels and office buildings sustained heavy damage, including the CNN/Omni Hotel complex and the Georgia World Congress Center. Several nearby buildings also sustained damage, including the Equitable Building, Georgia Dome and Phillips Arena.
Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts in the neighborhood of Cabbagetown was also severely damage, according to reports.
The twister weakened as it moved east but left a trail of damage, the National Weather Service said. Glass from hundreds of shattered windows littered streets in downtown Atlanta and several vehicles were damaged.
Around 50 homes were also damaged by the tornado and some 30 people were injured, according to officials.
Additionally, the severe weather that spawned the tornado in Atlanta continued into Saturday. The Storm Prediction Center received more than 40 tornado reports across north Georgia and South Carolina that day. Two people in northwest Georgia were killed and dozens more were injured. Reports said the severe weather also caused damage to hundreds of properties in the region.
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