ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — The Rockdale County community is reeling after a strong EF-2 tornado ripped through residential areas of Conyers just before midnight on Tuesday, with damage impacts felt long into Wednesday.
With max wind speeds reaching 115 mph during one of the most dangerous times of the night when many people were sleeping, the path of destruction left homes crushed by fallen trees and cars damaged by swirling debris.
As the path to recovery begins, residents are now forced to pick up the pieces and begin rebuilding their homes. But with that comes a few important questions: Who is responsible for paying for storm damage caused by downed trees? There are a couple of possibilities.
Who is responsible for paying for storm damage caused by fallen trees?
Many homes that stood in the path of destruction from Tuesday night's EF-2 tornado were damaged by collapsed and uprooted trees that fell due to high wind speeds. If you happen to be one of those residents, you may be wondering who is responsible to pay for the damage. Here's what Georgia law states.
Georgia's Fallen Tree Responsibility laws:
If a tree falls on someone's property, it is usually that property owner, and not the property owner of the tree, who is then responsible for any property damage sustained to the home or land. Additionally, they are also responsible for paying for that tree to be hauled away.
There is an important exception, however:
If a tree falls from a neighbor's property onto your own property and causes damage or injures somebody, if the neighbor had reasonable knowledge that the tree was dead or diseased based on either "visible signs that the tree was dead or had a disease" such as no bark or leaves in the summertime, OR "if the owner of the tree received written notice ... that there was a problem with the tree before it fell" -- then the property owner that the tree resided on would likely be responsible for paying for any and all damages to the neighboring property impacted.
In summary:
If your neighbor did not reasonably know there was a problem with the tree before it fell, then you are responsible for paying for the damages. You are not responsible, however, for cleaning up any debris on your neighbor's property.
For any questions surrounding Georgia's law, you can see how it's explained at the website here.