<p>A series of tornadoes swept through the Atlanta area early Saturday morning, striking businesses, homes and churches and causing some of the most extensive damage state officials say they have seen in years.</p><p>Authorities said the storms damaged homes and businesses in Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Hall counties. No deaths or serious injuries were reported, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.</p><p>Weiss said most of the damage appeared to be in Cobb and north Fulton counties. Cobb at one point had up to 2,500 homes without power and several roads closed due to downed power lines and trees.</p><p>State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who surveyed the damage, said the force of the storms and the densely populated areas they hit combined to make them the most devastating he's seen in the state since 1998.</p><p>"This is going to be a very, very expensive storm," Oxendine said. "I hate to even think of what the cost of this storm is going to be."</p><p>The National Weather Service said four twisters in all swept through the state.</p><p>In Roswell, a car wash was destroyed and windows in other nearby businesses were broken.</p><p>At least one church was reported destroyed, as was an office building. Several stores were among the buildings that sustained heavy damage.</p><p>About 36,000 Georgia Power customers lost electricity in the metro Atlanta area. Another 8,000 in northwest Georgia had their power knocked out, said Georgia Power spokesman Tal Wright.</p><p>He said crews hoped to have power in all of those areas restored by nightfall, except for the hardest-hit areas in north Fulton County, which were expected to be restored by midnight.</p><p>"But there is more weather coming in, according to forecasts," Wright said. "These estimates don't include whatever damage that might cause."</p><p>By 4:30 p.m., only 71 homes in Cobb County remained without power, according to a written release.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Red Cross assembled teams to canvass neighborhoods struck by the storms. Tiffany Fell, of the Red Cross, said the crews found 17 homes with major damage and one home destroyed in Cobb County and four homes with major damage in Cherokee County.</p><p>She said Red Cross caseworkers were working with three families Saturday that had requested assistance after the storms.</p><p>Weiss said state crews were continuing to work Saturday afternoon to clear closed roads and streets.</p><p>He said downs trees and power lines, along with minor damage to some homes and other buildings, also had been reported in Cherokee, Haralson, Henry and Polk counties.</p><p>In Tennessee, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes tore off roofs, overturned cars and left 11 people dead. The storm there was the second wave of violent weather to hit the state in less than a week.</p>
