Repairs for hundreds of homeowners continue exactly one year after a massive hail storm pounded Collin County and parts of Far North Dallas on March 23, 2016.
Many of the homes along Westgrove Drive in Dallas now have new roofs, but it has been a long process for some.
Mark Greer owns Midwestern Construction, a storm restoration contractor based out of Carrollton.
In an average year, Greer’s company typically works on 200 homes. In 2016, that number doubled.
And the work from the March 23, 2016 storm is still going strong.
“That night the hailstorm came through, my phone started to blow up with texts, calls, emails,” Greer said. “We’ve been busy ever since, it hasn’t slowed down for a year.”
Greer said they still have about 100 homes with hail-damage to repair and they receive about 15 calls a week from clients regarding repairs related to the March 23 storm.
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There are several reasons the process has taken so long. Insurance claims can drag on and there is a shortage of materials and labor initially after a storm that size.
People also put it off, or in the case of homeowner Howard Cohen, don’t even realize there is damage to their roofs.
“Not being a roof inspector, I made my own inspection and said, ‘Well there’s nothing wrong here, looks beautiful,’” Cohen said.
Little did he know his roof was badly damaged and it wasn’t until nearly a year later that he got it inspected and repaired.
“There was hail damage all over, to the gutters, to the roof,” Cohen said, that could have led to leaking and costly repairs down the line.
According to the Insurance Council of Texas, the March 23 hail storm resulted in about $700 million in insured losses, making it one of the costliest storms in state history.
