Friday’s hail storm in Potter and Randall Counties was declared a catastrophic event, meaning over 500 insurance claims were made in each county. The Insurance Council of Texas is projecting around 2,800 auto claims and around 1,600 homeowners claims in Amarillo from the first round of hail storms in Amarillo.

“We got a lot of phone calls during it and after it and even into the evening. We stayed there at the office quite a while settling claims with people,” said Shannon Brooks, State Farm agent in Amarillo.

“We’ve seen quite an increase in calls. We’ve had our guys out on the streets all day today inspecting roofs, and we expect to see quite a few more,” said Jed Hudson, owner of Hudson Brothers Roofing.

Due to the high demand of claims, a team of appraisers will be assisting the local offices in Amarillo.

“They are going to try and handle as much as they can in a virtual context. This is new for us with the cat storms coming, so I’m not sure how we will be handling this. We’re going to do the best we can to be there physically, if not virtually,” said Brooks.