Updated 9/19/2023 with roof inspection information
Roofing contractors have seen all types of damage, from typical storm-related repairs to the utter destruction caused by hurricanes, and even the rare car through a roof. But do any of those account for what happened to this Phoenix couple’s home?
As reported by ABC-affiliated KPNX, the mystery began around 3 p.m. on Sept. 15. Lisa Sikorski was working from home when she said she experienced something like an earthquake, saying it felt as if “the house was going to fall down.” The shaking was accompanied by a strange noise she had never heard before.
“You just hear the boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom, but continuous," Sikorski told KPNX. "That’s what it sounded like and it was really extremely loud.”
The noise reportedly lasted for 15 seconds. She didn’t give it much thought afterwards until a neighbor sent her a photo of her roof. The tile roof, Sikorski said, appears to have some type of impact damage. Images and video of the roof show tiles shattered and displaced, exposing the wood beams underneath.
The mystery deepened when Sikorski said she didn’t find anything in or around the home that could have caused the damage. To complicate the matter, the Federal Aviation Administration told KPNX they didn’t receive any reports of falling objects in the area on that day.
“There’s no evidence. The only thing is possibly if there was something that it could be still on the roof somewhere," Sikorski said.
Doorbell camera footage on the same block of the home show the roof intact around 2 p.m., but separate footage from two hours later reveals the damage. Sikorski initially thought her neighbors experienced the strange happenings as well, but told KPNX that “nobody else felt the vibration and sound.”
"I literally thought the whole neighborhood was feeling it because it was so strong," she told KPNX.
KPNX says a roofing repair company is scheduled to inspect the roof on Sept. 19. In a follow-up story from AZfamily.com, All About Roofing LLC came out to inspect the damage. Kevin Bowland of All About Roofing told AZfamily he didn’t find any foreign objects, and believes it may have been a wind-related weather event.
“It’s just a downward wind that comes in and it lifts the tiles,” Bowland told AZFamily.
The homeowners are said to be looking to gather other opinions just to be sure.
Hear the story and view the damage for yourself in KPNX’s report:
