Damage from severe storms and 19 tornadoes on Mother's Day likely will 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."

Two people died, about 6,000 homes were damaged, and Gov. Sonny Perdue has declared the 13 counties impacted as state disaster areas, state officials said. Oxendine said the mid-March tornado that devastated downtown Atlanta had a higher price tag, but "more people were impacted" by Sunday's storms.

Oxendine based his assessment on reports received from insurance companies across the state and his own visual evaluation as he flew over affected areas Thursday. He added $25 million to his prior estimate of $100 million in storm-related losses to account for extensive commercial damage.

"And that could go higher," he said, noting he would visit the city of Darien in McIntosh County on Monday. The National Weather Service reported an EF-4 class tornado —- one of only nine ever recorded in Georgia —- in the coastal county, with recorded winds speeds of up to 180 mph.

"That might be the hardest-hit area," Oxendine said.

Fifteen tornadoes touched down in Middle Georgia and North Georgia, with another four, including the McIntosh twister, in South Georgia.

Flying over Douglas, Clayton and Bibb counties Thursday morning, the insurance commissioner got his first glimpse at the brutal impact of the weather.

"These folks were really lucky," he said of homeowners whose homes were damaged but who escaped unharmed. Tornado-struck homes appeared as a patchwork of thatched roofs, blue tarp and the occasional shattered wood.

On the ground in Macon, however, the devastation was more palpable.

"It is amazing nobody was killed in this," said Carol's Linens owner Carol Kaplan, whose storefront was blown out in a hail of shattered glass and debris.

Around Macon, the seat of Bibb County, roofs were blown off or caved in, trees were upended and toppled onto cars, windows were shattered and power lines were down.

Hank Dews surveyed the remains of the home he grew up in, where the tornado collapsed a tree and a brick chimney into the master bedroom where his mother used to sleep —- and where tenants, who moved into the home April 1, could have been, had they not just left for an out-of-town trip.

"Mother had moved out, and the renters left to go to Florida at 3 o'clock Sunday morning," Dews said. "The tornado hit at 5:30 [a.m.]."

Part of the reason for Oxendine's trip was to help tornado and storm victims having trouble getting response from insurance adjusters.

Macon homeowners like Charlie Wilson have been waiting days for aid.

"Allstate told us Sunday we'd hear from them within 72 hours," Wilson said. "We haven't heard anything since."

Oxendine said insurance adjusters were overtaxed with work from last weekend's storms, the March tornado and the spate of severe weather that has plagued much of the country recently.

"These large national companies have been hit across the country," he said. "There are only so many human beings."

But insurance companies should live up to their responsibilities, Oxendine said. On Monday, he sent a directive to statewide insurance brokers demanding that they respond to their customers' claims as quickly as possible. "We want to make sure everyone gets help through this," he said.

For help with claims stemming from the recent storms, residents were told to call the commissioner's Consumer Services Division, 404-656-2070 or, outside metro Atlanta, 1-800-656-2298.