BLOOMINGTON - Hurricane-damage claims are pouring in for State Farm Insurance Cos. The Bloomington-based insurer has received more than 16,000 homeowner claims since Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana on Monday, said spokesman Jeff McCollum.

Policyholders have reported damage from wind, hail, water and sewer and drain back up.

State Farm also has received 1,700 automobile claims, McCollum said.

Six of the company's catastrophe response vehicles have moved into the Louisiana communities of Baton Rouge, Morgan City, New Iberia, Alexandria, Houma and Lafayette, McCollum said.

The seventh vehicle State Farm deployed to the area headed to Atlanta, Ga., on Thursday in case Tropical Storm Hanna causes damage in South Carolina this weekend, McCollum said. State Farm also continues to monitor the path of Hurricane Ike, he said.

Also in Louisiana, claim operation sites have been set up in Baton Rouge, La., and Biloxi, Miss. Auto claim sites have been established in several Mississippi towns.

Damage is bad but not at the level of Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast three years ago, McCollum said. The claims process is going smoothly as power is coming back online and some phone lines are working, he said. Some claims even are closed already, he said.

As a result of 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, State Farm had 295,000 homeowner claims and 99,000 auto claims for a total payout of $3.6 billion. State Farm is the largest home and auto insurer in the Gulf Coast region.