What to Do After a Storm Damages Your Home

The hours and days following a severe storm, tornado, or flood can be stressful and disorienting. Taking organized, methodical action helps protect your family from hidden life-safety threats, prevents progressive secondary property damage, and ensures you document your losses carefully. Follow this structured 14-step recovery action plan.

Step 1: Verify Personal Safety First

Ensure all family members and pets are accounted for and uninjured. Administer first aid where needed and call 911 for emergency medical emergencies. Remain inside your safe shelter until emergency officials confirm that dangerous weather has completely cleared your area.

Step 2: Monitor Official Emergency Broadcasts

Tune in to local NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts or county emergency management agency mobile updates. Adhere to local travel advisories, curfew mandates, and road closure notices.

Step 3: Check for Downed Power Lines & Electrical Hazards

Before stepping into yards or driveways, scan visually for downed utility lines. Treat every wire as energized and lethal. If water has entered wall cavities or your breaker panel, do not flip breakers while standing in water; contact your utility company.

Step 4: Check for Gas Leaks & Fire Hazards

If you smell natural gas (a rotten-egg odor), hear a hissing pipe, or suspect a ruptured fuel line: evacuate the building immediately on foot. Do not use electrical switches, phones, or open flames inside the structure. Once safely away (at least 300 feet), call 911 and your gas utility.

Step 5: Inspect for Structural Hazards Before Entering

Walk the perimeter of the home before entering. Look for sagging rooflines, cracked foundation walls, leaning porches, or shifted framing. If structural integrity appears compromised, do not enter; have a municipal building inspector or structural engineer evaluate the property.

Step 6: Avoid Standing Floodwaters

Never walk, drive, or allow children to play in standing floodwater. Floodwaters can carry harmful bacteria, chemical runoff, displaced animals, and sharp submerged debris. Wash skin thoroughly with clean water and soap after any accidental contact.

Step 7: Photograph All Damage Before Touching Anything

Before moving broken limbs, beginning cleanup, or discarding soaked items, take extensive wide-angle and close-up photographs of all damaged building components and personal belongings. Follow our complete How to Document Property Damage Guide.

Step 8: Implement Temporary Weatherproofing & Protection

Most homeowner insurance policies require policyholders to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage when safe to do so. Board up broken window openings with plywood, securely cover openings, and shut off the main water valve if pipes have ruptured.

Step 9: Address Roof Leaks Safely (Avoid Dangerous Roof Climbing)

If your roof is leaking, place buckets beneath drips in the attic and puncture bubbling ceiling drywall to relieve water weight. Never climb onto wet, steep, or structurally compromised roofs. Consult our Roof Tarp Safety Guide and consider hiring licensed roofing contractors.

Step 10: Retain Every Single Purchase Receipt

Keep a physical folder or digital archive of all receipts for emergency supplies (tarps, screws, flashlights, batteries, dehumidifiers) and contractor services. Emergency mitigation expenses may be reimbursable depending on the policy, cause of loss, coverage, limits, documentation, and circumstances.

Step 11: Compile an Itemized Damaged Property Inventory

List every piece of damaged personal property, noting brand names, model numbers, approximate purchase dates, and replacement values. Do not discard major ruined appliances until your insurance adjuster has inspected them or authorized disposal in writing.

Step 12: Vet Contractors Carefully

Be cautious of unlicensed door-to-door operators following disasters. Demand proof of local licensing, general liability, and workers' compensation insurance. Obtain written estimates and review state regulations regarding deposit amounts.

Step 13: Connect with Local and National Disaster Assistance

Tap into local relief distribution points for bottled water, emergency food, and shelter. Review our complete Find Disaster Assistance Near You Guide to locate FEMA, Red Cross, and 211 services.

Step 14: Systematically Organize Recovery Records

Disaster recovery involves months of coordination. Maintain a dedicated written log of every phone call, email, and inspection with insurance representatives, contractors, and municipal officials. Use software like PAi Claims to maintain organized documentation.