Safe from the Storm: How to help your roof withstand a hurricane
By Action 8 Meteorologist Ben Lang
Hurricanes can bring roof damage, even inland in our part of Alabama. Here is how you can make sure you don’t lose your roof when winds are close to or above hurricane force.
In 2020, Hurricane Sally caused damage in West Alabama. You may remember Hurricane Opal in 1995, that had winds of 90MPH or more when it came through Montgomery, and the widespread damage in our area from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Those storms prove that we need to be prepared for hurricanes, even though we are a few hours from the Gulf.
While many people think of protecting windows from high winds, your roof needs attention, too.
The time to think about protecting your roof is now, long before a hurricane threatens. After all, losing a roof can be much more devastating to your property than dealing with a broken window.
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety is working to get homeowners to fortify their roof. Unfortunately, Alabama doesn’t have a uniform building code to require certain roof standards. The organization has come up with its own standards.
IBHS meteorologist Rachael Gauthier says a fortified roof has a better chance of staying attached to your home and not blowing off. In Hurricane Sally, a study of 17,000 homes with fortified roofs showed that less than 1% had damage, Gauthier says, other than damage from a tree falling on a roof.
She says that about 50,000 homes in Alabama have fortified roofs, including inland areas away from the coast.
There is a grant program available to provide as much as $10,000 toward the cost of making these improvements. The payoff could be lower insurance premiums in addition to the increase in protection.
Click on fortifiedhome.org to learn more about making your roof stronger and how to find someone to do the work.
Watch the video above to find out more about what makes a roof better able to withstand high winds.
