Intense storms can carry tremendous force, leading to the possibility of extensive damage over a large area. Although every storm and its specific storm damage are unique, there are some common patterns we can expect that will cause certain types of damage to both residential and commercial structures.
Residential Storm Damage
For many people, their home is their single most valuable investment. Storm damage to the home can therefore be extremely disruptive to a person’s finances and their life. Here are some of the most common types of storm damage to be prepared for.
Wind Damage
Wind damage is common in hurricanes and tornadoes when the highest-speed winds occur. Sometimes, down-bursts, derechos, and other straight-line winds can cause severe property damage.
Wind damage can include knocked-down walls, broken windows, thrown objects, lifted roofs, torn off siding, and more.
Water Damage
Storms can drive a lot of water into your home. Once your roof, windows, or walls are compromised, rainwater can stream into the home. In addition, if a storm causes flooding, the floodwaters can flow into your home, filling it.
Water damage gets worse over time, and if you were evacuated because of the storm and don’t return for several days, you might have much worse damage due to the growth of mold and other microorganisms, as well as infestation by different pests.
Hail Damage
Many storms come with large, damaging hail. Pulled by gravity and driven by wind, hailstones can shred a roof, tear siding apart, kill carefully planted gardens, and, of course, badly damage a car.
It only takes seconds for hail to cause tremendous damage to your property, and it’s highly unpredictable.
Falling and Thrown Object Damage
Although wind can cause substantial damage on its own, it can also create damage by propelling, knocking over, or breaking objects which then strike your home, other structures, or your car.
The most common falling or thrown objects are trees and tree branches. When these break off or blow down, they are very heavy objects that can crush a house or car. Other thrown objects can be tools, equipment, and anything left unsecured outside. This can sometimes include landscaping materials like rocks.
Commercial Storm Damage
When storms strike, it’s not just homes that can suffer. Commercial buildings can also suffer major storm damage, though the type of damage may differ slightly. Here’s some additional types of storm damage common for businesses.
Business Interruption
Unlike a home, a business needs its location to generate income. So, in addition to the expense of repairing damage to a commercial building, a business has a cost of business interruption. This can include things like salaries that have to be paid even when employees can’t work, failure to meet contractual obligations, and an inability to market, sell, or deliver merchandise.
Businesses might also see a substantial loss in inventory due to storm damage, including wind damage and water damage.
Looting
When an area is evacuated because of an imminent storm, some people may stay behind in the hopes that they can loot unprotected buildings. Merchants are the most often targeted in the wave of looting that can happen before, after, and even during a storm.
Looting can lead to significant damage to the property as well as a major loss of inventory.
Electrical and Other Equipment Damage
Although residential properties are vulnerable to the power surges and outages that occur during a storm, the damage tends to be much less extensive than for businesses that might have very expensive, specialized, and high-end equipment that can get damaged in a storm.
The loss of this equipment can not only be expensive to remedy, but it can make it much harder for businesses to reopen. Commercial equipment may be custom, rare, and even bespoke for a particular business’ needs, which can make it hard to replace in a timely fashion.
Just Right Cleaning & Construction Helps with Both Residential and Commercial Storm Damage
With offices across the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area, JRCC Damage Restoration Experts has been the leading storm damage restoration company in the region since 1954.
We offer 24/7 emergency response services so storm damage restoration can start as soon as you detect the damage. Simply give us a call, and we will be out quickly to handle every stage of the restoration process.
We can start with a quick site survey to determine if the structure or structures are inhabitable or usable. We can provide board-up services to protect damaged property from looting, infestation by pests, and further storm damage. Then we can perform all the restoration and reconstruction work, including putting finishing details in place so no one will be able to tell that there was storm damage to the property.
We can also coordinate with your insurance company to make sure you get compensation for all covered damages. Although things like floods are often not covered by insurance, we will extensively document the damage and the repairs so that the claims process is as easy as possible, and you won’t be denied compensation because of a lack of documentation.
To learn how JRCC Damage Restoration Experts can restore your home or commercial property after storm damage, please contact us at 509-765-4138 today. JRCC Damage Restoration Experts serves customers in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area.