Sorry to hear of the damaged property. But poor planning does figure into some of the damage.
Trees are pretty, but they require regular care. Mature trees close to homes need to beer topped on a regular basis to help prevent property damage from storms (not just hurricanes, any thunderstorm can bring one down).
Allowing 80’ trees close to one’s home or garage is like suspending several tons of concrete over the structure with a cotton rope. Given time, it WILL fall down.
This storm is not unlike any strong storm hitting a densely populated area. You can pull up photos from any city or town and see blocked roads, downed trees and powerlines.
In a dense urban area how do you trim your neighbors tree? It’s just as likely to destroy your house as one in your own yard? Yes, you can sue him. That’s after the fact. My friend whose car got pancaked in his own garage? Not his tree. Another friend had (fortunately ONLY) his fence destroyed. Neighbors tree. Had it fallen another way (given the density up there) it likely would have hit a house.
The difference this time is the size of urban area affected. It’s the entire central part of the state. An area that’s WAY larger than any given metro area like houston. If you’ve never been there it’s difficult to comprehend. Combined with the suburban single family sprawl are areas with really really dense population. In 20+ apartment condo buildings. Sited 10 or 15 such buildings on a 25 acre plot.
But, post this storm I bet many townships will get draconian on the size of trees allowed to remain. If they don’t, insurance companies will!