Understanding Environmental Concerns

No matter how well you maintain your home and prepare, there is nothing that you can do when a particularly severe storm ravages your area. After a serious storm passes, you will need to assess your home and property for storm damage. If your home has storm damage, take the following steps:

Stay Safe

The most important thing to do after a severe storm has damaged your home is to stay safe. If there is extensive damage and flooding inside your home, turn off your gas, water, and electricity. Never go outside to assess damage to your property until the weather has cleared completely and the storm has moved on. Even if your area has lost power, always stay away from downed power lines. If you have downed power lines on your property of near your home, immediately contact emergency services and your utility provider.

Look for Damage

A storm can damage your home and property in a number of ways. When it is safe to go outside, take a look at your roof for signs of missing shingles or flashing. It is also important to note any downed trees on your property. Look at downed or damaged trees from a distance-- if you get to close to a damaged tree, you run the risk of the tree falling on you. If it hailed during the storm, you may also notice extensive damage to the siding on your home as well as windows. 

Contact Your Homeowners Insurance Company

After a severe storm damages your home, the faster you contact your insurance company, the better. Filing a claim as quickly as possible will ensure that an insurance adjuster can come out in a timely manner so your claim can be processed and you can receive funds to be used to repair your home. 

Take Photos

While your insurance adjuster will inspect your property and take photos of the damage, it is always in your best interest to take your own photographs. Doing so will ensure that you have documentation of the damage in your own records, and your photos can be used as evidence in the event that your insurance company does not give you the money that you're entitled to to fix all of the damage to your property.

Choose a Contractor Carefully

Before hiring a company to make repairs to your home, take the time to do some research. It is important to hire a reputable and experienced licensed contractor to do the work. It is in your best interest to avoid traveling contractors that go door to door offering to make repairs after a neighborhood is damaged by severe weather. For example, contact a local tree service, like Affordable Tree Care, if you have damaged trees.