Tornado Damage Cleanup and Restoration

6/16/2023 (Permalink)

Tree fallen on top of house after high winds.

Tornadoes are one of nature’s most destructive forces. You may feel overwhelmed if your home or business has been affected by a tornado, and you're likely wondering what to do.

We recommend the following steps to start with the tornado cleanup process.

Tornado Damage Cleanup Process

1. Safety first: Make sure that all people and pets on the property are safe, and watch out for any potential hazards such as broken glass or downed power lines. Do not enter portions of your property that have been structurally damaged.
2. Find a safe and stable place: almost always, local government and national disaster response teams like the Red Cross rush to the tornado-damaged community to help displaced people find a temporary safe space. Contact them as quickly as possible for help if you need these services.
3. Document the damage: Take pictures of all damaged areas and personal belongings. Do not risk your safety by entering structurally damaged areas. Take documentation only from locations where you can be safe.
4. Contact your insurance company: As soon as possible, contact your insurance provider to begin filing a claim.
5. Find an experienced disaster restoration team: Hire a qualified contractor who specializes in tornado damage cleanup, restoration, and construction.

How to Find A Tornado Damage Restoration Team

It happens to nearly every community that has experienced devastating loss -- handfuls of pop-up restoration companies show up with trucks and trailers and go door-to-door soliciting work. Nearly all will demand cash up-front to start service and some leave without doing any work or performing poorly.

Finding the right damage restoration team to help with your tornado damage is vital. We recommend you look for the following characteristics to find a legitimate company and vet them to ensure they are the right team for you.

• Look for a local company. Is anyone in or near your town who can service your property? Local companies have a local workforce, which may help them serve you faster. It's also easier to know what kind of reputation they have with other local jobs. Just as importantly, should you ever need to reach them, you know exactly where they are. Look for companies with a local address and local phone number. Do not accept companies that pretend to be local but have no verifiable address.

• Look for a full-service company that helps process insurance claims specializing in damage cleanup, restoration, and construction. Full-service companies can handle every step of your tornado restoration process. Working with just one vendor is much easier and less expensive than a handful, so most insurance agents prefer full-service restoration vendors. Click on the company's website to learn about the services they offer. Their website should be recently updated, professional, and informative.

• Look for a company to accept and help process your insurance claim. The nation's most trusted damage restoration companies are those that understand insurance and have staff dedicated to helping you process your insurance claim. They should have experience working with adjusters and insurance companies. They will help ensure your adjuster validates your claim before they start work, so you won't be stuck with an uncovered bill.

• Research the team's credentials and reputation. Does the company have good, legitimate Google Reviews? Are they an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB)? Are they part of the local Chambers of Commerce? Google the company you're considering, and it should be easy to find many different sources of information about them.

• Ask your insurance agent, adjuster, friends, family, or neighbors with restoration company experience for recommendations.  You may even find a restoration company already working with a neighbor.  Walk up to them and ask how their service is so far.  

• Make sure the company is licensed to do business in your state/region.  

Tornado Cleanup Services

Nearly every tornado-damaged property will require the same restoration steps, such as:

• Roof Tarping and Board-Up. Roof tarping is when a water-proof, thick tarp is put over your roof to protect it from further damage after a tornado. The tarp helps weather from entering your property, preventing the damage from worsening inside. A board-up is when you put boards over damaged siding, windows, and doors to prevent weather and intrusion into your property. Roof tarping and board-up are the first necessary step to mitigate damage. Sometimes, if the damage is extensive and the building is not structurally sound, performing this service may not be possible.

• Content inventory and pack-out. Contents are the things inside a property. It could be furniture, clothes, decorations, and even appliances. The contents inventory process involves cataloging everything inside a property. The inventory process involves careful documentation of each item, including photographs, video, and a description of the item's state. The inventory is completed digitally and then shared with the insurance adjuster to assess restoration or replacement costs. Along with inventorying a property's contents, a pack-out occurs simultaneously. A pack-out is when a restoration company wraps and boxes everything it's cataloged and moves it out of the property. Moving items out allows the restoration company to work inside the property safely.

• Content cleaning. An effective damage restoration company will have one or many cleaning facilities. The contents packed out of the property are transported to the cleaning facility, where they are unpacked, sanitized, and re-packed for long-term storage. If an item can't be cleaned, it's deemed unsalvageable, which is also reported to the insurance adjuster so replacement costs can be calculated.

• Textile sanitization. Expert damage restoration companies can clean all kinds of contents, including textiles (clothing, bedding, stuffed animals, etc.). Ask your restoration company if they are a certified Esporta Wash System operator. Esporta is the world's most advanced textile sanitization machine.

• Long-Term Storage. Full-service restoration companies will have their own storage locations, sometimes climate controlled, to keep your items safe while your property is being rebuilt.

• Property Cleanup and Restoration. Once all contents are out of the property, a damage restoration company will work on the property itself. This involves cleaning debris and demolition of unsalvageable structures such as damaged windows, flooring, etc. The goal of the restoration team is to salvage as much of the property as possible and prepare it for the construction team to come in after it and reconstruct only the needed parts. Restoration usually saves the homeowner thousands of dollars in claims and is the preferred method for insurance companies.

• Construction. After the restoration team is done, the construction team enters to rebuild the property back to preloss condition. A full-service damage restoration company will be able to help with every construction need your property requires.

SERVPRO® Tornado Damage Restoration Team

The SERVPRO® of Amarillo team has nearly 40 years of experience restoring properties after many kinds of disasters, including tornado damage.

• We're a local company. Our office is located in Amarillo, Texas at 1301 SW 8th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79101. Our phone number is 806-331-4555. We answer our phones 24/7 and are always easy to find.

• We travel to where people need us. Our crews travel to disaster-struck communities. We regularly help clients in Eastern New Mexico, Texas Panhandle, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and Southwest Kansas. We've completed projects in nearly every town surrounding Amarillo, plus Dalhart, Pampa, Borger, Perryton, and Canadian. In Kansas, we regularly travel to Liberal and Guymon. We regularly travel to Clovis, Portales, Tucumcari, Clayton, and Raton in New Mexico. Our team travels across the United States to assist with major disasters and losses.

• We offer full-service cleaning, restoration, and construction. Our team restores a property following a proven set of steps that we know from decades of experience works. We will first secure your property and ensure it's safe to work in and from further damage caused by weather and/or break-ins. We inventory our clients' homes, pack their contents, and take them back to our cleaning facility for sanitization and long-term storage. Then, our SERVPRO® construction team rebuilds damaged areas of the property. Finally, we move back our clients' contents.

• All insurance claims accepted. SERVPRO has many agreements with insurance companies where we provide faster service and competitive rates. Each of our clients has a dedicated Project Coordinator assigned so we can work with you and your insurance adjuster to process your claim. We verify the work your property needs is validated as part of your claim to avoid leaving you with a surprise uncovered bill.

• SERVPRO® is the nation's #1 most trusted brand in damage restoration. We are frequently the preferred choice for many families, businesses, and insurance adjusters because of our extensive experience in damage restoration.

• We're an active part of the Panhandle community. SERVPRO of Amarillo is accredited with the BBB and a member of local chambers of commerce. We support local sports teams and organizations and even offer free graffiti removal as part of a beautification process. We care about our hometown and are here to serve our neighbors in need.

• We're licensed and certified. SERVPRO® of Amarillo is a licensed local contractor, a licensed Texas state mold remediation contractor, and we're certified by the IICRC (an organization that sets the damage restoration standards) and the Esporta Wash System (textile sanitization).

Contact the SERVPRO® of Amarillo Tornado Cleanup Team 

Call SERVPRO® of Amarillo at 806-331-4555 to schedule one of our experts to visit your property and guide your tornado damage restoration process. We are accepting new clients, and insurance claims are accepted.

We're Here to Help.