Tornado outbreak leaves trail of destruction in Houston. Here's how to get help

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A tornado outbreak in Southeast Texas caused widespread damage. Here are some resources you can use to recover.

HOUSTON — The Houston area has been battered by strong storms this week with at least nine confirmed tornadoes over three days.

On the day after Christmas, five tornadoes touched down from Wharton County to Liberty County. On Saturday, at least four tornadoes were reported:

  • Waller County
  • Montgomery County (Porter Heights) and then possibly into Liberty County
  • Brazoria County (between Liverpool and Alvin) into Galveston County (damage reported in Bacliff)
  • Chambers County

The strong winds caused significant damage to many structures in the Houston area, leaving homeowners and business owners to pick up the pieces and recover. At least one person died as a result of the storms.

If your home is damaged by a tornado, the Insurance Information Institute recommends contacting your insurer as soon as possible to file a claim. You should also take photos of any damage, along with making a detailed list of all damaged or destroyed personal property.

In addition, you should be sure to save all receipts for expenses incurred while you are unable to be in your home.

Here are some resources that can help you get back on your feet.

Red Cross

The Red Cross recommends filling out an application for help. They can help you with documentation to provide to your bank.

The Red Cross also has a recovery guide with resources to help you as you recover from a disaster.

Insurance

Some standard homeowners insurance policies cover tornado damage, but you may need to purchase additional windstorm coverage if you live in a storm-prone area.

Windstorms, a general term that includes tornadoes, are listed under some policies’ covered perils. You may also have an “all-risk” policy that covers tornado damage, insurance company Progressive says on its website.

But some homeowners insurance policies exclude wind damage from a tornado or other storm, according to Progressive and Allstate. That means your insurance company would not cover the cost of repairs if your home is damaged or destroyed by a tornado.

People who live in tornado-prone areas should ask their insurance company if their policy has a wind exclusion. 

If your policy does not cover windstorm damage, you can purchase windstorm insurance as an add-on to your existing policy or as a separate policy. Some insurance companies may even require you to do so if you live in an area that’s prone to tornadoes and other wind events. Windstorm insurance is most common in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and other states that are prone to experiencing tornadoes or hurricanes.