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Roof Damage After a Storm: What to Check and What to Do First

  • Published November 7, 2026
  • The main guide of this topic
  • Also under Homeowners insurance and roof damage

After a storm, stay off the roof and work from the ground: confirm the house is safe, photograph damage inside and out before anything is moved, cover openings only if it can be done without climbing, and read your policy before you sign with any contractor. The order matters because each step protects the next one.

This page is the starting point for storm damage. Each step below links to the page that covers it in depth, so you can go straight to the one that matches your storm.

Safety First: What Not to Do in the Hours After a Storm

If you evacuated, FEMA’s hurricane safety sheet (V-1006) says to follow reentry guidance from local authorities and return “only when it is safe to do so.” The same sheet advises having “a professional inspect your damaged property before attempting to clean up or repair any damage.”

Downed wires come before the roof. OSHA’s fact sheet on working safely around downed electrical wires says to “never go near a downed or fallen electric power line” and to contact the utility. It also warns that downed wires can energize nearby objects, including fences, water pipes, trees and buildings. If a line is on the house, a gutter or a tree touching the roof, stay away from all of it and call the utility.

Keep these off your list until a professional has looked:

  • Climbing onto the roof or a ladder. Wet shingles, loose debris and decking you cannot see beneath you are the conditions under which falls happen. A pair of binoculars and the attic hatch tell you enough for now.
  • Running a generator near the house. FEMA says to use a generator “ONLY outdoors and at least 20 feet away from any building openings.”
  • Pulling down hanging pieces. A dangling gutter or a limb resting on the roof may be holding something else in place.

If water is already coming through a ceiling, the steps for an active roof leak cover the first hour inside: power, containment and ceiling bulges.

Ground and Attic Checks That Point to Damage

Once the house is safe, a walk around the outside and a look into the attic will point to the kind of damage you are dealing with. If the attic insulation is loose, pebble-like vermiculite, EPA’s page on vermiculite attic insulation advises treating it as possibly containing asbestos and leaving it undisturbed, so check the attic only from the hatch and leave that attic to a professional. Use this checklist from the ground and from the attic hatch, standing on framing rather than insulation:

  • Shingles, tabs or ridge pieces lying in the yard
  • Bare patches, lifted edges or shingles folded back along the eaves and rakes
  • Fresh dents in gutters, downspouts, vent caps or window screens
  • A limb or tree resting on the roof, or a broken fascia board
  • Water stains, damp sheathing or daylight through the roof boards in the attic

Each pattern points to a different guide. Dents in soft metal after a hailstorm call for the guide to recognizing hail damage on shingles, metal and vents. Missing or folded tabs after high wind match the patterns in wind damage to roofs. A tree on the house has its own order of work in what to do when a tree falls on your roof.

Winter storms need different checks. Heavy snow raises the question of weight, covered in snow load warning signs and safe removal. A ridge of ice at the eaves is an ice dam: why ice dams form explains the cause, and removing an ice dam safely covers what to do while it is there.

For the full ground-level method, including what to look for with binoculars and a flashlight, see the DIY roof inspection guide.

Document Before Cleanup or Repairs

The record you make now is what an adjuster will compare against. Before anything goes to the curb, photograph or film the damage inside the house and out, and keep the receipt for every repair and replacement purchase; FEMA sets out both steps in How to Document Damages After Severe Weather Events.

A useful record includes:

  1. Wide photos or video of each side of the house and each visible roof slope, taken from the ground.
  2. Close-ups of dented metal, debris and fallen shingles, with a coin or tape measure for scale.
  3. Interior photos of ceiling stains, wet insulation and damaged belongings before they are thrown out.
  4. The date and time of the storm, and a note of when you first saw each problem.
  5. Receipts for tarps, fans, buckets and any emergency service.

If you need to confirm the date of a hail or wind event for your address, checking storm history for an address explains what public storm records can and cannot prove.

Temporary Protection Without Climbing

Temporary cover is needed only when an opening is letting water in or will with the next rain. If that is your situation, the cover is a job for a roofer or a tarp crew; your job is to keep belongings dry inside and to keep the receipt. The tarping guide covers how to hire a tarp crew, how a tarp should be anchored without causing new damage, and the federal Operation Blue Roof program.

Storms bring unsolicited offers. The FTC’s advice on avoiding scams after a weather disaster says to “hire only contractors who are licensed and insured,” not to pay in cash, and to pay only after the work is finished and you are satisfied. It warns that some offers come from people who “take your money and disappear.”

FEMA’s documentation guidance adds a rule that matters for your claim: consult your insurance adjuster or insurance company before you sign cleanup or maintenance agreements. The guide to roofing scams covers door-to-door schemes, contract assignments and how to report them.

What Your Policy Expects After a Loss

Your policy lists duties that start the day of the storm. NAIC’s Post-Disaster Claims Guide says to notify your insurer as soon as you know there is damage and you decide to file, to “prevent further damage by making essential repairs,” and not to make permanent repairs before talking with your agent or insurer.

Read two parts of the policy before you call:

  • The declarations page, for your deductibles. A separate wind, hail or hurricane deductible changes the math on whether a claim makes sense.
  • The section listing your duties after a loss, for notice requirements and what counts as protecting the property. Deadlines vary by policy and state, so take the deadline from your own policy rather than from a general rule.

Hurricane deductibles deserve a specific look. As NAIC’s hurricane deductibles page described them in June 2025, they sit apart from the standard deductible and are usually a share of the home’s insured value, from 1% up to 15% at the high end. The math for your own policy is worked through in calculating a percentage wind, hail or hurricane deductible, and the full claim timeline, from notice to final payment, is in the roof insurance claim process.

When to Call the Insurer Before the Roofer

If the house is safe and no water is coming in, the order is: photograph everything, read your declarations page and duties section, call your insurer to report the damage, then have a roofer inspect. If you cannot tell whether the damage clears your wind or hail deductible, a roofer’s rough estimate with nothing signed can come before the call, as long as the call still comes promptly. Do not sign a contract or an assignment until the insurer has been contacted.

If water is entering now, protection comes first. Arrange temporary cover by a roofer or tarp crew, keep every receipt, photograph the opening before and after it is covered, and call the insurer the same day.

Find the declarations page now, note the deductible that applies to this storm, and make that call before anyone at the door gets a signature.

Hardening the Roof Before the Next Storm or Fire Season

This part can wait until the claim and the repairs are settled. If the damage leads to a re-roof, that is the moment to add details that cannot be added later. In hurricane country, the construction details that keep a roof on explain deck nailing, deck sealing and edge metal. If you want those details verified under a published standard, the IBHS FORTIFIED Roof guide covers the checklist and the paperwork.

Near salt water, a roof is attacked first at its metal parts, fasteners and flashing included, which is the subject of choosing fasteners and flashing metals for salt air. In wildfire areas, a Class A covering is the start; hardening vents, gutters and roof edges against embers covers the rest.

This guide is general information for U.S. homeowners, not legal, insurance, tax, or engineering advice. Codes, laws, and policy terms vary by location and change over time; confirm details with your local building department, your insurer, or a licensed professional.

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