Storm Damage: The First 72 Hours

30-second scan

1. Do not go on the roof. Not to look, not to photograph, not to tarp.
2. Treat downed lines, wet electrical equipment, and standing water as lethal.
3. Clear any area under a sagging or bulging ceiling and keep people out of it.
4. Document everything from safe positions, before anything is moved or covered.
5. Contact your insurer or broker promptly and ask what they need from you.
6. Arrange temporary protection through people equipped to do it safely.
7. Sign nothing that transfers your claim rights or control of the repair until you have read it properly.

Immediate danger

Downed power lines and wet electrical equipment. Assume every downed line is live. Ready.gov’s guidance where water is present: do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water, and turn off electricity only if it is safe to do so. Do not walk through flood water to reach a panel. If you cannot reach it safely and dry, call an electrician or emergency services.

The roof. Do not access a wet, storm-damaged, or structurally uncertain roof. OSHA identifies falls as the leading cause of death in construction work, warns that roofing surfaces can become slick when wet, and its fall-prevention guidance points to suspending roof operations in bad weather. Storm damage adds hazards you cannot see from below: lifted or punctured decking, hidden saturation, debris, and displaced ballast. A storm-damaged roof can look walkable and not be.

Sagging or bulging ceilings inside. Do not stand beneath, puncture, or disturb one. Clear the area and have qualified emergency, maintenance, or restoration personnel evaluate it from a safe position.

Debris and glass at ground level, and anything that may have been thrown from the roof — ballast, equipment panels, flashing.

Protect people

• Cordon the perimeter where roof debris could still fall, and the interior areas beneath any water-loaded ceiling.
• Keep tenants and staff out of affected areas and tell them, in writing, which areas those are.
• Do not put your own maintenance staff on the roof to “just take a look”. This is the most common way a property loss becomes an injury.

Protect property

• Move what is movable out of affected areas and the areas beneath them.
• Cover what is not movable; lift it off the floor.
• Clear drains and scuppers from safe positions — post-storm debris blocking drainage turns wind damage into a structural water load.
• Arrange emergency tarping or temporary protection through a contractor equipped to be up there safely, once conditions allow.

Document

Do this before anything is moved, cleaned, or covered — including before tarping, if it is safe to photograph first.

• Photograph and video from safe positions: the interior, the ground-level debris, the building exterior, and the roof only from a safe vantage (an upper window, an adjacent building, or a drone flown by someone qualified). A photograph is not worth a fall.
• Keep timestamps enabled. Capture wide context shots and close detail shots.
• Photograph undamaged areas too — it establishes the boundary of the event.
• Record the date and time of the storm, and keep any public weather record for your area from that date.
• Keep a written log: what happened, what you found, who you called, when, what they said.
• Keep every receipt for emergency work, materials, and temporary measures.
• If you had a recent roof condition report or inspection, retrieve it now. Pre-event condition is often the pivotal question.

Notify

• Your insurer or broker — promptly. Review your policy and contact them to ask about notice, documentation, mitigation, inspections, and repair authorization. Notice requirements, documentation standards, and what is and is not covered vary by policy. Ask what your policy requires rather than relying on general advice — including this page.
• Your own roofing contractor, if you have an established relationship — for stabilisation first.
• Tenants, owners, and any lender or manager your agreements require you to inform.

Do not let any contractor tell you what your policy covers. That is between you, your policy document, and your insurer or broker.

Temporary stabilisation

• Emergency tarping and temporary protection, by people equipped to work at height safely, once weather allows.
• Water extraction and drying inside.
• Get the scope in writing. Photograph before and after.
• Ask your insurer what they expect you to authorise before you authorise anything beyond making the building safe. Do not assume any specific cost will be reimbursed.

When emergency action may not be needed

• Cosmetic marking without breach. Some surface scarring after hail does not mean the membrane’s watertightness is compromised. It still deserves assessment — but not a 4am call-out.
• No visible interior water and no evidence of breach. A scheduled post-storm inspection is the right response.
• Neighboring buildings were hit and yours may not have been. A storm passing over does not establish that your roof was damaged. Have it assessed rather than assuming either way.

Post-storm markets fill with people whose business model depends on you believing your roof is destroyed. Evidence settles it.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Going on the roof to look. The most dangerous mistake on this page.
2. Standing under, or puncturing, a bulging ceiling.
3. Tarping before documenting, when documenting could have been done safely first.
4. Letting the contractor who wants the job be the only party who assesses the damage. Ask whether the person telling you the roof is destroyed is the person who would be paid to replace it.
5. Signing a contract you have not read — particularly anything that transfers claim rights, payment authority, or control of the repair process. Read every such provision carefully. Rules vary by state, and some arrangements may be restricted or prohibited. If you do not fully understand what a document assigns, have your broker or a lawyer read it before you sign.
6. Agreeing to have your deductible “waived” or “covered.” Treat any such offer as a reason to stop and get advice.
7. Hiring on urgency. Verify licensing for your jurisdiction, insurance certificates, a permanent local address, and references you actually call.
8. Assuming the claim is the whole story. The roof’s underlying condition and remaining life still drive the economics, storm or no storm.

The next decision

Once the building is safe, stabilised, and documented, the decision is the same one every roof eventually forces: repair, restore, or replace — and on what evidence.

Get an independent condition assessment and a moisture survey before you accept anyone’s proposal, and read Repair or Replace? How to Decide. A storm changes the urgency and the funding conversation. It does not change the fact that the decision should be made on evidence rather than on whoever knocked first.

Frequently asked questions

Can I go up to photograph the damage? No. Photograph from safe vantage points, or have a qualified professional or drone operator do it. OSHA identifies falls as the leading cause of death in construction work and warns that roofing surfaces can become slick when wet. No photograph is worth a fall.

A contractor knocked and says my roof is totaled and they’ll handle the claim. Should I? Slow down. Ask whether they are licensed for your jurisdiction, whether they have a permanent local address, and whether the person diagnosing the damage is the person who would be paid to fix it. Read every document before signing — especially anything that transfers claim rights, payment authority, or control of the repair process. Rules vary by state, and some arrangements may be restricted or prohibited.

Will the tarping and emergency work be paid for? Ask your insurer or broker; we cannot tell you. Keep every receipt and photograph everything regardless — and ask before authorising work beyond making the building safe.

How long do I have to report it? Notice requirements vary by policy. Contact your insurer or broker promptly and ask specifically about notice; do not rely on a general rule you read anywhere, including here.

Nothing is leaking. Do I still need an inspection? Usually yes, after a significant storm. Wind and hail damage frequently does not present as an immediate leak, and undetected damage tends to surface later — often after the point at which it is easy to connect it to the storm.