COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hurricane Charley caused an estimated $4.6 million in damage when it crashed into the South Carolina coast near McClellanville last weekend, causing street flooding, snapping power lines and ripping down signs.

About 2,000 insurance claims had been filed by midday Tuesday, according to the South Carolina Insurance News Service.

Allison Dean Love, the service's executive director, said the damage figure was compiled from a survey of 20 insurance companies that do business in the state.

On Monday, the damage estimate was about $1.8 million. That figure rose as more claims came in.

But Love said industry officials felt that, by Tuesday, most claims had been filed and the $4.6 million figure was not expected to increase much during the coming week.

Most of the damage claims came from the Grand Strand where the storm hit hardest as it quickly passed through the state last Saturday.

The average claim amount was about $2,300, Love said.

Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct damage assessment. Last Friday, Sanford declared a state of emergency in South Carolina, which is the first step in making the state eligible for federal funds in case damage from the storm exceeds $5 million.

Charley, then with 145 mph winds, killed at least 19 and caused an estimated $15 billion damage when it smashed into southwest Florida on Friday.

The hurricane stormed across the Florida peninsula and emerged over the Atlantic. But the winds had dropped to 85 mph by the time Charley hit South Carolina in upper Charleston County.

Here, the storm mostly snapped trees and limbs, ripped down power lines, toppled awnings and signs and caused street flooding. At the height of the storm, almost 100,000 customers were left without power along the South Carolina coast.