It Figures

$22 Million

The amount of damages caused by a fire at a Florida manufacturing plant, leaving 309 employees out of work, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Efrain “Frankie” Castro was arrested on March 13 in Lakes Wales on charges of first degree arson, Sink said.

30%

The rate of decline in train derailments and collisions in West Virginia in 2007 compared to 2006. The Federal Railroad Administration said the state logged nine fewer incidents in 2007 and was one of 34 states with a decline.

$5.14 Million

The amount a southeastern Kentucky jury awarded to a man whose wife and daughter were killed in a wreck with a sheriff’s deputy. Jurors in McCreary County handed down the verdict in a lawsuit against former Sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Thompson. The jury found Thompson 70 percent at fault for the August 2003 collision that killed 28-year-old Alice Rose and her 10-year-old daughter, Ashley, on U.S. 27.

$250 Million

The estimated amount of insured losses caused by a tornado that struck downtown Atlanta on March 14, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John W. Oxendine. While the figure included damage from across the state, Oxendine said much of the loss came from downtown Atlanta, with the World Congress Center – the fourth largest convention center in the nation – especially hard hit.

68

The number of South Carolina homes totally destroyed by mid-March tornadoes, with 501 homes damaged statewide. Insurers initially estimated property damage at $13 million, according to the South Carolina Insurance News Service. More than 900 South Carolinians experienced power outages.