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Roofing companies reflect on massive amounts of post-derecho damage

Some homeowners are just now starting to notice their derecho damage.

URBANDALE, Iowa — It's been a year since a derecho brought hurricane-force winds through Iowa, and left behind billions of dollars in damage.

Damage that uprooted families and left homes unrecognizable. 

"I'd say we had anywhere from 10 inspections a week ... sometimes more, and [repairing roofs] upwards of 100," Joe Whitman, a project manager at Shamrock Roofing and Construction, said. 

Whitman and Justin Wagoner, another project manager with the company, said they instantly became busy after the storm.

"We still had jobs we couldn't complete last year due to the weather ... that continued over into this year," Wagoner said.

Shamrock Roofing and Construction does not currently have as many roofs to fix as they did during their peak.

For homeowners who did not check their roofs after the derecho hit, they should do so now.

"Once the integrity of a shingle has been damaged, by hail, wind anything like that it's sometimes hard to tell from the ground, until you get up there, and take a look," Wagoner said. 

A lack of checking after an incident as severe as the derecho can be a mistake. 

RELATED: Farmers still recovering a year after historic derecho

RELATED: What is the future of severe weather forecasting? Iowa's devastating derecho, 1 year later

Following this summer's hail storms, Home Solutions of Iowa got a handful of clients who thought their homes were just hit by hail.

Upon further inspection, the hail damage exposed wind damage, and those clients were able to file and claim the damage as derecho 2020 damage. 

"Wind damage is something that isn't seen by the average homeowner," Brent Butler, the company's marketing director, said. "Shingles that were blown off and certain angles of your roof that you can't see." 

Iowa Insurance Division said around 223,000 homeowners insurance claims were made after the derecho, with 17,000 of them still open.

Homeowners just discovering damage from the derecho is not uncommon, but depending on a person's policy, time could be running out to file a claim. 

"They need to reach out to their insurance agent and ask them about any guidelines deadlines that would be pertinent to their situation," deputy commissioner Jared Kirby said.

Kirby also said if people are having difficulty not understanding their contract or not understanding the outcome of a claim, you can always reach out to them directly.

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TUESDAY AT 8 P.M.: Watch a live Q&A with Chief Meteorologist Brad Edwards about the 2020 Iowa derecho

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