These look like pictures taken from New Orleans, Missippi or Texas. But this time tropical storm Ida made its way to the Northeast and dumped 10 inches of rain in just one hour in some parts of New Jersey. That’s way more than homes, sewers, and streets are equipped to handle.
Unfortunately, we are experiencing more extreme weather as climate change takes its toll. Now a “Noreaster” is commonplace whereas just a few years ago it was not even in our lexicon.
The result has been devastating to the state including abandoned cars on the road, rescuing people from their roofs, floodwaters in commercial and residential basements, and mud covering streets and sidewalks. A lot of businesses remained closed and can’t re-open until their insurance companies can come to inspect the damage – which can take quite some time. All of this on top of the adverse effects COVID had on businesses makes it an even bigger struggle.
MY BEST ADVICE FOR HOMEOWNERS
If you have water in your basement or your car is flooded, by all means, call appropriate personnel immediately. But if your roof leaked in places for the first time, wait before calling in a roofer for a repair estimate. Leaks that occur in extreme weather may never leak again. It’s just such a deluge of water that the roof system gets overwhelmed.
If it hasn’t leaked in the same spots in previous storms, it will likely be fine moving forward. Alternatively, if it has leaked in the same spots before (not to the same degree) there’s likely a roof repair that needs to be made.
As you might imagine, we are extremely busy and trying to help the people with the most serious roofing issues first. Please call us if you suspect a problem and we will do our best to get to you as fast as we can and provide some advice over the phone as well. We have several options to make it easier for our customers.
