After a Storm: Roof Damage, Tarps and Your Insurance Claim

What should you do in the first hour after a storm damages your roof?

Stay off the roof and out of any room with a bulging or dripping ceiling. Look from the ground for missing shingles, hanging gutters or limbs on the roof, then check the attic and upstairs ceilings with a flashlight. Photograph what you see, catch drips in a bucket, and call a roofer once everyone is safe.

A wet roof after a storm is slick, and shingles that look flat may be loose underneath. Most injuries after storm damage happen on the ladder or on the roof deck, not from the storm itself. Keep both feet on the ground for the first look. A phone with a zoom lens, or a pair of binoculars, shows a surprising amount from the lawn.

Inside, work from the top down. The attic floor is the first place water collects, so a flashlight on the insulation, the underside of the roof deck and the nails that poke through it tells you whether the water got in. A stained or sagging ceiling below is a sign water is pooling above it. If one bulges, do not poke it to let the water out; wet drywall can come down all at once, and anything electrical nearby makes it worse. Move people and pets out of that room and set a bucket where the drip lands.

Limbs lying on the roof are a separate worry. A limb that looks like it is resting can be holding a puncture open, and pulling it off can tear more shingles with it. Photograph it where it lies and leave removal to a crew with the gear for it. When you are ready to call, (833) 751-2102 puts you through to a roofer who serves your town, when a roofer is free.

• Keep clear of any ceiling that sags, bulges or drips near a light fixture.
• Catch drips and move furniture, but leave wet drywall in place.
• Photograph the ground, the roofline, the attic and each wet ceiling before touching anything.
• Write down the date and the time the weather arrived, in your own words.

What did the 2021 tornado and Ida do to roofs around Souderton?

With the remnants of Fred in August 2021, an EF-1 tornado first struck just south of Souderton, hit the Hidden Springs mobile home community and travelled about nine miles into Hilltown Township, with peak gusts over 100 mph. Ida followed in September with flooding, an EF-2 tornado at Fort Washington and roof damage around Ambler.

The two storms are worth knowing because they are different kinds of event, and your documents should show which one you are dealing with. The August tornado was a narrow path of extreme wind. It put trees on homes at Hidden Springs and tore a section of roofing off an auto repair shop on Dublin Pike near Blue School Road, according to news reports from the time. That is wind damage: lifted shingles, missing ridge caps, stripped flashing, and limbs through the deck.

Ida, on 1 and 2 September 2021, was mostly a rain story, though it also spawned an EF-2 tornado at Fort Washington with peak winds of 130 mph. Reports of significant damage came from around Ambler, Fort Washington and Willow Grove, and an apartment complex in Lansdale, the Crossings at Stanbridge, had a partial roof collapse. Heavy rain finds every weak point in a roof at once, so the damage list after a storm like that tends to be long: soaked insulation, stained ceilings, and gutters that overflowed behind the fascia.

None of that predicts the next storm or says what happened to your roof. It does show why a good record matters: damage tied to a particular day, with photographs from that day, makes the conversation with an insurer and a roofer far simpler. See wind damage roof repair and storm damage roof repair for how a crew approaches either.

How do you document roof damage so the record holds up?

Photograph the whole house first, then each damaged area, then close-ups, always before cleanup or tarping. Capture the date on the file, keep the original images, and add short notes: what you saw, when the storm hit, and where water came in. Keep every receipt from emergency steps you took to limit further damage.

Think of the record as a story told in three zoom levels. A wide view shows the house and the street, so it is clear whose roof it is. A medium view shows the slope, the gutter or the chimney, and a close view shows the broken shingle, the lifted flashing or the stain on the ceiling. Without the wide and medium shots, a close-up of a ripped shingle could be from anywhere.

The table below lists what is worth capturing and why. It is a checklist, not a requirement from any insurer; your own policy and your insurer say what they need.

When does a tarp make sense, and what are the limits?

A tarp makes sense when water is getting in and a repair cannot happen yet. It buys time. It is not a repair, it must be fastened to hold in wind, and a poorly fastened tarp can tear more shingles loose. Ask a roofer how they secure one, and keep the receipt for the work.

Think about what a tarp has to do. It has to cover the open area and extend well past it, shed water to the eaves rather than trap it, and stay put in the next gust. Pounding nails through the middle of the sheet makes new holes and leaks of its own. Wooden battens or strips that clamp the edge are usually the better method, and a roofer who tarps often will have a preferred way.

Not every roof can be tarped safely. A steep pitch, a wet slope, a slate or tile roof, or a roof with a lot of loose pieces up there can make a short job a risky one. A roofer who says they will come back when conditions allow is being careful, not slow. Where the roof is not the only problem, such as water running down inside a wall or through a light fixture, call about the interior damage separately and switch off power to that area if you can do so safely from a dry spot.

Souderton Roofing is a call line, not a crew. The roofer you are put through to serves your town and works when they are free, and nobody can promise an arrival time after a big storm, because every roofer nearby is getting the same calls. If your leak is active, say so on the call, and read emergency roof repair for what a first visit usually covers.

Who does what: your insurer, your roofer and the call line?

Your insurer decides whether and how much of a loss it covers under your policy. A roofer inspects, photographs, quotes and repairs. Souderton Roofing only puts you through to a local roofer. None of these parties can promise a claim outcome on behalf of another, and you do not have to use whoever knocks on your door first.

A roofer can tell you what they see on the roof, write it down and quote the repair. A written scope with photographs is useful to bring to your insurer, but the roofer is not the one deciding coverage and should not say what the insurer will pay. Be wary of anyone who says they will handle the whole claim for you, or who asks you to sign over decisions before you have read them.

After large storms, people go door to door offering roof work. Some are local and decent; others are not. The simple habit that protects you is to take your time, ask for the contractor's Pennsylvania registration, and compare more than one quote where you can. Our guide on how to check a roofer in Pennsylvania covers the steps, and the Attorney General's registry is the place to look.

• Ask your insurer what documents and photographs it wants before you start repairs beyond a temporary cover.
• Ask any roofer to put the scope and price in writing, with photographs of what they found.
• Read what you sign. Keep a copy of everything, including any authorization form.
• Never pay the full price in advance for work that has not started.

What is the order of steps in the days after the storm?

Make everything safe the same day, document before you clean, call your insurer and a roofer within a day or two, cover the opening, and keep every receipt. Only start permanent repairs when you have your documents and a written scope. Wait for approval of anything large, and keep a log of every call.

Storms leave people with a lot to do at once, and the order helps. Safety first, then evidence, then protection, then repairs. Skipping ahead, such as hauling away a damaged section before it is photographed, is the most common way to lose the record.

A log makes later calls easier. Write down the date, who you spoke to, what they said, and any reference number. Photographs plus a plain list of calls will take you further than memory after a few weeks.