What to Do After a Storm Damages Your Roof

A bad storm can strip tiles, crack flashing or send a branch through your roof in minutes. What you do in the hours and days afterwards makes a real difference, both to how much worse the damage gets, and to how smoothly any insurance claim goes. Here's a clear, calm order of steps.

1. Stay safe first — don't get on the roof

It's tempting to go up and see for yourself, especially if water is already coming through. Don't. A storm-damaged roof can be unstable, tiles can be loose even where they look fine, and wet surfaces are far more dangerous than they seem from the ground. Leave roof access to someone with the right training and equipment. Keep clear of any area where debris or tiles could still fall, and if you can see sagging ceilings, cracking, or a strong smell of gas, leave the property and call the emergency services. It's also worth switching off electrics to any room with water coming through, at the consumer unit, if it's safe to reach.

2. Contain the damage from inside

If water is coming through a ceiling, a bucket and some old towels do more good than anything else in the first hour. If you can safely access the loft, a tarpaulin laid loosely over insulation can catch drips without you needing to go anywhere near the roof itself.

3. Document everything

Photos are the single most useful thing you can do for an insurance claim. Take pictures from the ground and from inside, including any visible damage, water stains, and anything that's fallen (branches, tiles, guttering). Note the date and, if you can, roughly what time the damage happened.

4. Get a proper assessment, not a door-knocker

After any major storm, it's common for people to go door to door offering "emergency" roof repairs, often pressuring homeowners into paying cash up front. Be wary of anyone who turns up unannounced, quotes on the spot without a proper inspection, or asks for money before doing any work. A legitimate roofer will give you a written quote and won't need paying in advance.

5. Book a survey and get it fixed properly

Once things are safe, get a roofer out to assess the actual damage. Sometimes what looks dramatic from the ground is a straightforward repair; sometimes what looks minor is hiding a bigger problem underneath. Either way, you want a written assessment before agreeing to any work.