(by Arthur Headner)

The Property Claim Services unit of Insurance Services Office Inc. declared tropical storm Gaston to be a real catastrophe after the recent Charley.

This week, Gaston, a tropical storm, caused damaging flooding of overall U.S. Southeast, particularly having made landfall in South Carolina. Damage in Virginia made state authorities to declare a state of emergency throughout the state. Gaston’s damage in insured property accounts for no less than $25 million, specialists say.

The damage of the tropical storm is sure to be the continuation of insurance losses made by the second-largest U.S. hurricane Charley within the sum of millions of dollars as St Paul Travelers Co. Inc. declared after-tax losses to exceed $140 million and Allstate Corp.’s losses account for at least $276 million.