Safety first
Before anything else:
- Ceilings. A ceiling bulging with water can collapse. Keep everyone out of the room. Do not poke it.
- Electrics. If water is near light fittings, power points or the switchboard, switch off power at the main switch if you can do so safely, and call an electrician.
- The roof. Do not climb onto it in wind, rain or darkness, and never onto a damaged roof.
- Trees and wires. Stay well away from fallen power lines and call the electricity distributor or 000.
For life-threatening situations, call 000. For storm help from the NSW SES, call 132 500.
Limit the water damage
Once people are safe:
- Put buckets, tubs or towels under drips.
- Move furniture, electronics and documents out of affected rooms.
- Roll up rugs.
- If water is pooling in a light fitting or downlight, leave it switched off.
- Mop and ventilate as you can.
Document everything
Before any temporary repair, photograph and video:
- the damage outside, from the ground
- each affected room, ceiling and item
- the time, date and weather
Keep damaged items until your insurer tells you they can go.
The make-safe
A make-safe is temporary work to stop further damage. Depending on the roof and what happened, it might involve:
- tarps secured over damaged areas
- temporary sheets screwed down over holes
- replacing or refitting tiles enough to close the roof
- clearing branches and debris
- unblocking valleys and gutters causing overflow
The make-safe is not the permanent fix and should not be treated as one. Keep the invoice and any photos the roofer takes.
During widespread storms, demand for make-safe work far exceeds supply. Expect delays, and be wary of anyone knocking on doors offering immediate permanent roof work for cash.
Talk to your insurer early
Most policies require prompt notification and reasonable steps to prevent further damage. Your insurer may:
- arrange its own emergency repairs
- send an assessor
- ask for a roofer's report and quote
Keep a record of who you spoke to and when. You can usually get your own quote alongside the insurer's.
After the weather clears
When conditions are safe, a roofer inspects the full roof, not just the obvious damage. Storms often cause hidden damage, such as cracked tiles, loose ridges, lifted flashings and saturated insulation. Our guide on how storm damage affects your roof over time explains what to check.
The inspection leads to one of three outcomes:
- Repair. The roof is sound apart from the storm damage.
- Partial replacement. One face or section is too damaged to repair economically.
- Full replacement. The damage is extensive, or the inspection shows the roof was already failing.
In the last case, insurance typically covers the storm damage but not the pre-existing condition. A clear written report separating the two helps.
When emergency replacement happens
Sometimes a roof cannot reasonably be repaired: a tree has crushed a section of the frame, a large part of the roof has been torn off, or an old asbestos cement roof has been broken up. These jobs move faster than a planned replacement, but some steps cannot be skipped:
- structural damage may need an engineer's assessment
- broken asbestos needs a licensed removalist and proper clean-up
- materials still need ordering
- insurers may need to approve the scope
Avoiding storm-chaser problems
After big storms, some operators target affected suburbs. Protect yourself:
- check the contractor licence on the NSW Government licence check
- do not pay large upfront sums; in NSW, deposits for residential building work are generally capped at 10 per cent
- get a written quote and contract
- be cautious of anyone pressuring you to sign on the spot
Our guide to choosing a roofing contractor has a fuller checklist.
A short emergency kit worth keeping
Newcastle gets enough big weather that a small kit is worth having: a couple of large buckets, old towels, plastic drop sheets, a torch with spare batteries, a phone charger that runs off a power bank, and a note of your insurer's claims number and policy details. Keep it somewhere you can reach without going outside. It turns the first hour of a roof emergency from a scramble into a routine.
Getting help through us
If water is coming in, call and say it is urgent. We will pass it to a local contractor as a priority. For the permanent work, see roof repairs or roof replacement.