The first hour after a tree hits the roof

1. People first

Get everyone out of the affected part of the house and outside. A tree on a roof has loaded the structure in a way it was never designed for, and that load can shift as the tree settles or as wind moves it.

Do not go back in for possessions. Ceilings come down.

2. Check for power lines before anyone goes near it

This is the step that gets skipped and it is the one that kills.

If the tree is touching, resting on, or has brought down any electrical conductor — including the service line from the pole to the house — treat the tree, the ground around it, the fence and anything metal in contact with it as live. Keep everyone and every animal at least eight metres back.

Ring the electricity emergency number and let the network operator attend. Do not let any tree contractor near it, regardless of what they tell you. The power line safety guide explains why the distances are what they are.

If there is a gas smell, or any sign of fire, ring triple zero.

3. Ring the right number

• Triple zero — injury, fire, gas, or a power line involved.
• NSW State Emergency Service, 132 500 — storm and tree damage to property where nobody is injured. This is the correct number for a tree on a house in a storm.
• Your insurer's claims line — as soon as people are safe. Most run a 24-hour line and many will arrange emergency make-safe work directly.
• A tree contractor — for the removal, once the site is confirmed safe.

4. Photograph everything before anything moves

This is the cheapest thing you will do all day and it makes the claim straightforward.

Photograph the tree where it lies, from several angles. The point of contact with the building. The damage inside — ceilings, walls, floors, water ingress. The base of the tree and the root plate. The stem and any visible decay, cracking or fungal growth. Damaged contents.

Take more than you think you need, and take them before the make-safe crew starts.

5. Prevent further damage, but do not repair

Policies require you to mitigate further loss, which means tarping an open roof and moving contents out of the wet. They do not require you to start repairs, and you should not — repairing before the assessor has seen it complicates everything.

Keep every invoice and every photograph.

6. The removal

Removing a tree that has fallen onto a structure is a specialist operation, not a clean-up. The tree is under stored tension and compression, sections are bearing on a damaged roof, and releasing that load in the wrong order does further damage or hurts someone.

Expect the work to be staged: make safe first, then a controlled dismantle, then the clean-up. Expect emergency rates, and expect a queue if a widespread east coast low has hit the whole Coast at once.

7. If it was a neighbour's tree

Claim on your own policy anyway — it is the fastest route to a repaired house, and your insurer can pursue recovery separately. The neighbour liability guide explains when there is a basis for that and when there is not.

Afterwards

Have the remaining trees assessed. A tree that came down in a storm frequently sat next to others with the same defect, the same shallow root plate and the same exposure. The signs a tree needs removing article covers what to look for, and the seasonal checklist covers when to act.