Storm Damage and Fallen Trees — What to Do and Who to Call

The Northern Beaches takes a battering every storm season. East coast lows, afternoon southerly busters, and the occasional severe thunderstorm can bring down branches — or whole trees — with almost no warning. When it happens at your property, the first few hours matter a great deal. What you do (and don't do) affects your safety, your insurance claim, and the total cost of the cleanup. Here's what you need to know.

Step One: Immediate Safety

Evacuate first, assess second

If a tree or large branch has fallen on or into your home, your first priority is to get everyone out of the affected area. Structural integrity can be compromised in ways that aren't immediately obvious — a tree resting on a roof can be putting enormous lateral load on walls, or concealing roof damage that creates a collapse risk in a second rain event. Don't go back in to retrieve belongings until you've had a structural assessment.

Power lines — do not approach

This is non-negotiable. If the fallen tree is in contact with overhead powerlines — or you're not certain whether it is — treat the entire area as live and dangerous. Call Ausgrid on 13 13 88. They operate 24/7 and will dispatch a crew to isolate the line before anyone else can safely work near it. No tree can be removed from a live powerline by anyone except a line-clearance arborist with specific high-voltage certification. Do not let any contractor touch the tree until the network authority has confirmed the lines are safe.

Document everything before cleanup starts

Before you move a single branch, take photographs and video from multiple angles. Capture the fallen tree or branch, the damage to your property, the root plate if the tree has been uprooted, and any visible defects in the remaining stump or trunk. Your insurer will almost certainly ask for this, and it strengthens your claim. Take wide shots showing context (where the tree was, what it fell on, neighbouring trees) as well as close-ups of damage.

Council's Responsibility vs Your Responsibility

This is one of the most common points of confusion after a storm event, and it's worth understanding clearly before you make any calls.

Street trees and public land

Trees growing in the nature strip, on the road reserve, or on Council-managed public land are the responsibility of Northern Beaches Council. If a Council street tree has fallen onto your property, contact Council's emergency line immediately and log the incident. Council will arrange removal of their tree from the public land portion. However — and this is the critical point — Council is generally not responsible for damage caused to your private property by a Council street tree unless you can demonstrate negligence (i.e., that Council was aware of a defect and failed to act on it). Your insurer needs to pursue that if it applies.

Private property trees

If the tree was growing on your property, the cleanup and associated costs are yours — regardless of which direction it fell. If your tree falls onto your neighbour's property, your home insurance covers your tree removal from your land. Your neighbour's insurer covers damage to their structure. This often surprises people, but it's the standard position under NSW law: damage from a neighbouring tree is covered by the damaged party's own insurer, not the tree owner's — unless negligence can be established.

The exception is if you had been notified in writing that the tree posed a risk (a letter from a neighbour, a council order) and you failed to act. That creates a documented negligence trail that may shift liability. This is why ignoring tree concerns from neighbours is genuinely risky.

Insurance — What to Document and What to Expect

Call your insurer promptly

Contact your home insurer as soon as it's safe to do so. Most policies cover emergency tree removal when a tree has fallen on a dwelling or other insured structure (garage, fence, pool equipment). What's typically not covered: tree removal when it falls on open land, lawn, or garden without hitting a structure. Read your PDS carefully — the definitions of "covered structure" vary between insurers.

Arborist report requirements

Many insurers, particularly for larger claims, will request a written arborist report as part of the claims process. This report typically needs to include: confirmation of the species, an assessment of why the tree failed (wind loading, pre-existing decay, root damage, etc.), and confirmation that the removal was necessary. We provide insurance-grade arborist reports for Northern Beaches homeowners — call us on 0452 030 077 and we can organise an inspection quickly.

Keep all receipts

Hold onto every invoice for tree removal, debris disposal, temporary roof tarping, and any emergency make-safe work. Your insurer will need a full cost breakdown. Even if you do some cleanup yourself, document your hours and any hired equipment.

When to Call an Arborist Immediately vs When It Can Wait

Call immediately if:

• A tree or large branch has fallen on your home, garage, pool, or fence and the structure is exposed to further weather damage
• A tree is partially uprooted and leaning toward a structure — these are unstable and the situation can change rapidly
• A large branch is hanging ("widow maker") partially attached above a path, driveway, or frequently used area
• The tree has struck powerlines and Ausgrid have confirmed the lines are now de-energised — arborist clearance is needed before power can be restored
• The fallen tree is blocking vehicle or pedestrian access to a property

Less urgent — can usually wait 24–72 hours:

• Branches down in the garden or on the lawn without hitting a structure
• Debris scattered across a driveway (safe to move yourself if there's no risk of more falling)
• Dead-wooding revealed by the storm in a tree that's otherwise stable — plan for a proper inspection when things settle

We provide emergency tree work across the Northern Beaches seven days a week. For genuinely urgent situations — trees on houses, blocked emergency access, hanging limbs — we prioritise same-day response across suburbs including Narrabeen, Newport, Mona Vale, and Collaroy.

Why Speed Matters — Secondary Damage

The immediate damage from a fallen tree is obvious. The secondary damage is less visible but often more expensive to fix.

Roof penetration and water ingress

A branch through a roof tile, even a small one, can allow water into the roof cavity. In heavy rain, water tracks along rafters and purlins before it becomes visible as a ceiling stain — by which time you may have significant timber damage, insulation saturation, and the early stages of mould growth. Temporary tarping within hours of the event dramatically reduces this risk. An arborist removing a tree from a roof should always coordinate with a builder or roofer to ensure the void is secured immediately after the tree is lifted off.

Mould

Mould can establish in damp wall cavities and roof spaces within 24–48 hours of water intrusion in summer temperatures. Once it takes hold, remediation is expensive — in serious cases, plasterboard, insulation, and structural timbers all need replacement. Speed matters.

Structural load

A tree resting on a roof isn't just creating a hole — it's applying continuous load to the roof structure. After a storm, when the ground is saturated and the rootball of a partially uprooted tree is heavy with water, the load distribution can shift. Trees that seemed stable at 6am can move significantly by midday. Don't assume a partially fallen tree is "done" — it may not be.

What Emergency Arborists Actually Do

There's sometimes confusion between emergency arborist work and general debris cleanup. Here's the distinction:

Emergency arborist work involves making the situation safe — removing a tree from a structure, sectioning and rigging a partially uprooted tree away from a building, clearing hanging limbs, cutting a tree off powerlines (post Ausgrid de-energisation), and providing written certification that the hazard has been resolved. This is the work that your insurer needs documented and that requires a qualified professional.

Debris cleanup — moving branches, chipping, hauling — is physical work that doesn't require arboricultural qualifications, though a good arborist will include it as part of the job. Be wary of anyone who arrives unsolicited after a storm offering very cheap cleanup work. Storm chasers frequently arrive on the Northern Beaches after major events, offer low prices for rapid cleanup, and leave before you discover they've caused additional damage, failed to remove root systems, or taken cash without insurance. Read our post on why cheap tree services cost more in the long run before you accept any unsolicited quote.

Emergency Removal vs Standard Removal — Cost and Permit Differences

Cost

Emergency tree removal typically costs more than standard removal — 20–50% more is common, depending on the situation. This reflects the after-hours call-out (if applicable), the complexity of working around damaged structures, the risk profile of the job, and the need for specialised rigging rather than straightforward felling. If your insurer is covering the work, this should be factored into your claim. Get an itemised quote so the insurer can see exactly what the premium reflects.

Permits after storm damage

Under Northern Beaches Council's DCP, emergency removal of a tree that poses an immediate threat to life or property does not always require a prior permit — but you must notify Council within two days and provide documentation (arborist report, photographs) supporting the emergency. This is not a blank cheque to remove trees without oversight: Council will review the documentation and a non-compliant removal can still attract penalties.

For clarity on the permit process, see our full guide: Do I Need a Council Permit to Remove a Tree on the Northern Beaches?

Our Emergency Response on the Northern Beaches

The Living Canopy provides emergency tree work across the Northern Beaches LGA seven days a week. Alex holds a Certificate III in Arboriculture and full Australian qualifications, with $20 million public liability insurance. We carry the specialist rigging, communication, and safety equipment that emergency tree work demands — this isn't a job for a chainsaw and a ute.

When you call, we'll ask a few quick questions to triage the situation and give you an honest assessment of urgency. If it's a genuine emergency, we'll get there. If it can wait until the next working day, we'll tell you that too — and we'll give you practical advice on what to do in the meantime to minimise secondary damage.