Most common types of Hurricane Damage

Hurricane damage can be extremely varied and can range from roofing or siding damage to devastating structural damage caused by extreme winds, storm surge, and flooding.  Due to the complexity of hurricane storm systems, and the forces that can be exerted against your home, it’s always a good idea to conduct a thorough inspection of your home after the storm passes to ensure that any damage discovered can be addressed.

To better understand what damage can result from a hurricane, it’s important to understand how hurricanes damage properties.  As always, it’s important to recognize that hurricanes don’t just damage properties, they could put the lives of you, and your family, at risk.  For this reason, it is always recommended to heed warnings from local law enforcement, and evacuate ahead of the storm whenever possible.

While it’s common to look at hurricane damage as a single cause, there are actually several different parts of the storm that all have their own unique effect on your property.  The most common causes of property damage as part of a hurricane include:

High Winds

The strength of hurricane-force winds cannot be overstated.  A Category 1 Hurricane generates sustained wind speeds of 74 mph, and this increases to more than 157 mph wind speeds for a Category 5 Hurricane.  These are extremely strong winds that pose a risk to safety and can result in significant property damage.

Hurricane-force winds are strong enough to cause extreme damage to properties, including ripping off siding and roofing, damaging doors or windows, or even causing structural damage such as ripping the entire roof structure off the home. The strong winds that accompany a hurricane are one of the most common causes of property damage during a storm and have the potential to cause damage hundreds of miles from the eye of the storm.

In addition to the strong winds, debris that is caught by the storm, such as signs, roofing material, siding, and trees, become flying missiles during hurricanes that can cause significant property damage as well.

What does property damage from Hurricane-force winds look like? High winds can cause damage to any exterior feature of your home, including siding, roofing, exterior buildings, and landscaping.  You may see siding or roofing that is missing or damaged, structures that have been twisted or shifted, fallen trees, or water intrusion from wind-driven rain.  It’s a good idea to conduct a thorough inspection of the exterior and interior of your home looking for any signs of property damage or moisture intrusion that could have occurred.

Is wind damage covered by insurance? Wind damage is often covered by most standard insurance policies, as is water damage that results from things like a roof leak.  There are cases where coverage may be excluded, so it is always a good idea to review coverage questions directly with your insurance agent.

Storm Surge

Storm Surge and large waves produced by hurricanes are extremely dangerous and generally cause the most property damage during a hurricane.  This is why it is recommended for coastal residents in the path of a hurricane to evacuate before the storm hits

Storm Surge is a wind-driven rise in sea water during a storm. Storm surge can reach heights well over 20 feet and can span hundreds of miles of coastline, leaving devastation in its path.  Imagine your home being battered by massive waves – that’s what Storm Surge is like.

The destructive power of storm surge and large battering waves can result in loss of life, damage to roads and bridges, and building damage. Storm surge may have a more significant effect on coastal areas, but can travel several miles inland, where it can contribute to flooding as well.

What does property damage from Storm Surge look like? The level of destruction, and potential for loss of life, caused by a storm surge cannot be overstated.  These are extremely dangerous and powerful events that can destroy a home, leaving nothing but its foundation behind…  Damage common following a storm surge includes homes that have been flooded with water, sand, and mud, structural damage, damage to roofing and siding, and land erosion.

Is storm surge damage covered by insurance? The damage caused by storm surge is generally not covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy.  Unfortunately, separate flood insurance is generally required to cover damage that may result from storm surge events.

Heavy Rainfall & Inland Flooding

Hurricanes often produce widespread, torrential, rains in excess of 6 inches, which may result in deadly and destructive floods that can spread over large areas, causing significant property damage. In fact, flooding is the biggest danger to the safety of residents and their properties in inland communities. Flash flooding can occur quickly due to intense rainfall and storm surge events, surprising residents that have chosen not to evacuate. Similarly, flooding of rivers, lakes, and streams can persist for several days after the storm, making it difficult to access your property or begin the recovery or mitigation process.

One of the most common misconceptions of flooding that we see are people that believe flood damage always occurs as a result of a body of water (such as a river, creek, or ocean) being overwhelmed and flooding its banks.  That actually isn’t accurate, as insurance companies generally view any water damage that originates from water that touches the ground first before entering your home as “flood damage”…  Using the definition adopted by insurance companies, water intrusion into your home from heavy rain is considered flooding even though it may not have resulted in widespread damage in your community.

In addition, heavy rainfall and flooding that overwhelms sewer systems could cause sewage backups into homes and businesses in nearby areas.

What does property damage from Flooding look like? Flooding damage is very different from standard water damage, as the water is not only contaminated, but has passed through the structure of your home from the outside, causing significantly more damage.  This results in additional tearout being necessary and an extended drying time.  In addition, flood damage can cause structural or foundation damage, that could be significant and costly to repair.

Is flooding damage covered by insurance? Unfortunately, the damage caused by flooding is not covered under standard home insurance policies.  Instead, specialized Flood Insurance is necessary to cover damage caused by flooding, whether it is part of a larger hurricane event or not.

Tornadoes

Hurricanes and tropical storms can also produce Tornadoes. These tornadoes most often occur in thunderstorms embedded in rain bands well away from the center of the hurricane, however, they can also occur near the center of the storm as well. Usually, tornadoes produced by hurricanes are relatively weak and short-lived compared to that larger tornado events have, but they still pose a significant threat.

What does property damage from Tornadoes look like? Similar to wind damage or other forms of tornado damage, you are most likely to see damage to siding, roofing, or exterior structures.  Stronger tornado events may also cause structural damage such as twisting or shifting that may need to be addressed as well.

Is tornado damage covered by insurance? Similar to wind damage, tornado damage is covered by most home insurance policies, however there may be restrictions or special exclusions in areas with a high risk of these storm events.  It is always best to review policy questions directly with your insurance agent.

We hope this helped answer some common questions about the damage caused by Hurricanes and what you can look for after the storm passes.

Of course, we strongly encourage you to evacuate ahead of any storm event, as your safety and the safety of your family is the most important thing.  There is nothing that you can do in the middle of a hurricane to protect your property from damage, so we recommend taking any preparations you can to board up your property before you leave and conduct a thorough inspection upon your return.

We do hope that you haven’t directly been impacted by a hurricane event, but if you do have any specific questions that we haven’t answered here, please don’t hesitate to Contact Your Local Disaster Blaster. We’re always here to help!

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