VANCOUVER \u2014 Intense flooding that hammered British Columbia’s coast last month has led to more than $110 million in insured damage claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says insurers have been working with clients for the last few weeks since the Category 4 atmospheric river caused “significant flood damage” to Metro Vancouver properties in Coquitlam, Burnaby, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Surrey.<\/p>\n
The bureau says the intense rainfall and wind \u2014 which prompted a local state of emergency in North Vancouver on Oct. 20 \u2014 resulted in overflowing rivers, sewer backups, and flooding on roads and in parking garages and basements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It says that while some residential flood insurance is available, it may be limited or inaccessible to some, forcing them to rely on government disaster financial assistance for their recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About 10 per cent of Canadian households cannot access flood insurance, and the bureau is again calling on the federal government to “fully fund” the National Flood Insurance Program.<\/p>\n
It says a national program would provide financial protection to high-risk households, and reduce disaster costs to federal and provincial government treasuries.<\/p>\n
“Rather than responding with disaster financial assistance in the aftermath of catastrophes, this program would be a proactive, cost-effective approach to managing the financial toll when disasters strike,” the bureau says in a news release.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“While the federal government has committed to its creation, the program has yet to be fully funded.”<\/p>\n
It says insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $3 billion annually and a new record has been set this year, reaching more than $7.7 billion.<\/p>\n
\u00a92024 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n