What to Do After Storm Damage to Your Roof, Including Tarping

Safety, documentation, and what “emergency repair” means

Stay off a wet, steep, or debris-covered roof unless you are equipped and qualified. Downed power lines, sagging ceilings, and standing water in the house are reasons to wait for help. From the ground, photograph missing shingles, open tiles, peeled metal, punctures, and interior stains. If you have to leave, DFS advises securing the property and turning off water, gas, and electricity, and leaving the insurer a number where you can be reached.

Emergency work is reasonably necessary to keep more rain out and to protect contents — a tarp, a temporary covering, drying, and moving belongings. Keep every receipt and do not throw away damaged roofing or interior materials until the insurer has had a chance to see them, unless they are a safety or health hazard that has already been photographed. A temporary repair is one of the events Fla. Stat. § 489.147(6) treats as an “official start date” when it is made in compliance with the Florida Building Code, which can affect the special 10-day cancellation window on certain emergency-period contracts; do not treat a tarp as permission to skip later permits for the permanent repair.

Call the insurer before you sign a permanent contract

Report the claim promptly and ask what the company wants to see. A homeowners policy is not a flood policy; § 627.7011(4) requires a bold warning that flood is not covered even if hurricane winds and rain caused the flood. There may be a hurricane deductible, and on some policies a separate roof deductible with statutory exceptions (a hurricane roof loss, as defined, is one of them). Payment on a replacement-cost dwelling claim is often actual cash value first, with the remainder paid as work is performed.

DFS warns against fly-by-night offers and against anyone who says they can adjust your claim or get the company to waive your deductible. Assignment-of-benefits contracts for residential and commercial property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023, are void under § 627.7152(13). A contractor may not interpret your policy or adjust the claim unless licensed as a public adjuster. If FEMA later inspects the property after a declared disaster, that inspection is not a substitute for your insurance claim, and it is not the same as a company adjuster’s visit.

Tarping and temporary coverings, without overselling them

A well-secured temporary covering can buy time. A poorly fastened tarp can come loose in the next squall and can also be installed in a way that makes later permanent work harder. If you hire someone only to tarp, still verify a license, get a written scope, and keep the receipt for the insurer. Government “blue roof” or tarp-distribution programs exist in some declared disasters in some places; they are not a standing Port St. Lucie service, and you should not wait for a program that may not be activated. Use official local emergency-management information if a program is announced.

Permanent repair or replacement still needs the right official — the City of Port St. Lucie Building Department, St. Lucie County, or another jurisdiction — and a Florida Product Approval assembly for a reroof. A tarp does not vest a right to skip that path.

Hiring help, and where to request quotes

DBPR’s Unlicensed Activity Program reminds owners, after a storm, to be cautious of people who demand full payment up front, pressure immediate action, cannot provide a valid Florida license, offer to “handle” insurance claims, or request cash only. Verify licenses at myfloridalicense.com, and report suspected unlicensed activity at 1-866-532-1440 or ULA@MyFloridaLicense.com, as DBPR and DFS publish. Get a written itemized estimate. If you signed a roof contract during a declared state of emergency, read the 10-day cancellation rights in § 489.147(6).

For licensed-contractor matches, use storm damage roof repair, roof repair, or roof replacement, and the form on this page. We are a matching service, not a roofer, and we do not tarp houses.

Interior water, contents, and when to get out

A roof leak is also an interior problem. If ceilings are sagging, get out from under them. If you can do so safely, catch water, move furniture, and run dehumidification after the actual rain is kept out — not as a substitute for a covering, but to limit secondary damage. Photograph wet insulation and stained drywall before you tear anything out, unless it is unsafe to leave it. DFS’s disaster guide also reminds owners who have to leave to shut off utilities and to leave a contact number for the insurer.

Separate, if you can, items damaged by rain that entered through a wind-damaged roof from items damaged by flood or standing water. The distinction can matter for coverage because flood is generally excluded from a homeowners policy that does not include flood coverage. You are not the final adjuster of that question, but clear photographs help the people who are. If a federal disaster is later declared and you apply for FEMA help, keep the same receipts; FEMA tells applicants those records can be used to verify expenses, and that a FEMA inspection is a different process from an insurance inspection.

Neighbors and door-hangers will arrive quickly. You do not have to decide on a full reroof the same afternoon. A temporary covering, a claim number, and a verified license are enough for the first day. Permanent scope can wait until someone has seen the deck and the insurer has been notified. That patience is also how you avoid the high-pressure pattern DBPR and DFS describe after storms.