Clayton is considered one of the hardest-hit areas, with more than 100 homes damaged, but Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) spokesman Buzz Weiss said too much of its damage was insured to warrant federal relief funding.
Hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. Though current hurricane forecasting and tracking allows for extended warning periods, being storm-ready before hurricane season begins will improve the odds of weathering an approaching storm.
On the Mother’s Day morning, May 11th a strong surface area of low pressure, dynamically supported in the upper-levels of the atmosphere, worked to create a derecho, or a powerful windstorm that roared across Middle Georgia. The derecho, not typically seen in the Southeast, spawned numerous large, rotating or supercell thunderstorms which in turn produced destructive straight-line winds and a series of tornadoes that brought considerable and devasting damage to parts of the area.
Damage from severe storms and 19 tornados on Mother’s Day will likely eclipse $125 million in insured losses, Georgia’s insurance commissioner said Thursday.
Following a helicopter tour of storm-ravaged counties, Commissioner John Oxendine called the destruction “the worst I’ve seen in my 14 years” in the job. “We’re seeing significant damage, not only to homes and timber, but to large businesses.”
President Bush on Friday declared a major disaster for parts of Georgia following the Mother’s Day tornadoes that assaulted the midstate two weeks ago.