How to stop a roof leak in the rain
In the storm you are managing water, not repairing a roof. Catch it, kill the power if it is near a fixture, and stay off the wet slope.
By Adnan Farooq
Put a bucket under the drip and move valuables
A pan on a towel, plus a hole poked in the ceiling only if a bulge is about to break — that last move is for people who already know how. Everyone else lets the bucket work and pokes nothing.
Electricity out of the picture
If water is near a light, fan, or outlet, leave the room and shut that breaker off. Do not stand in water and flip a switch.
Tarp from a safe place, or not at all
Walking a wet roof is how people die in ordinary rain. If you can reach an attic and slide plastic under the leak onto the decking, do that from the inside. Otherwise wait for a roofer. A blue tarp nailed by a brave neighbor is a second emergency.
Call while it is still raining
Roofers triage active leaks. Photos of the ceiling and, if you can get them safely from the ground, the outside slope help. After the storm, the stain is evidence — do not paint it the same day and forget.
Watch for this
- A sagging ceiling can collapse. Get out from under a bulge.
- Insurance wants the mitigation steps written down.
When to get help
If you smell gas, see sparking, or the ceiling is failing, leave and call emergency services. Otherwise a roofer, not a ladder in the dark.