HAILSTORM HISTORIC
Damage pegged at $1.2 billion
The massive hailstorm that struck Calgary and area on June 13 is officially the fourth-most-expensive natural disaster in Canadian history, with insured damages pegged at almost $1.2 billion.
According to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CATIQ), the storm — which shredded siding and pounded cars, particularly in hardest-hit northeast Calgary — is the costliest hailstorm in Canadian
history. In terms of all natural disasters, it is surpassed only by the 2016 Fort Mcmurray wildfire ($4 billion), the ice storm that walloped Eastern Canada in 1998 ($2.3 billion) and the 2013 flooding in southern Alberta ($1.7 billion).
The majority of the insured damage from the June 13 event involved personal property and vehicles, with a smaller percentage of damages to commercial property.
Damage caused by hail and wind is typically covered by insurance. In addition to the $1.2 billion in insured damages, the Alberta government announced financial support for residents who experienced overland flooding as a result of the storm, as this type of insurance is not always available in flood-prone areas.
The damages exceeded early estimates on insured damage claims cited by Jason Kenney of between $250 million and $500 million, and even Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s estimate that the storm had caused $1 billion in damages.
For Coun. George Chahal, whose Ward 5 was battered by the hailstorm, the scale of the damages didn’t come as a surprise.
“Now it’s all about us moving through the process, making sure that companies are being responsive, people are getting their claims in, and we can find out where the gaps are,” Chahal said.
According to Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) western vice-president Celyeste Power, more than 70,000 claims from the storm are currently being processed. While the number of claims and amount of damages is startling, she said it wasn’t a shock.
“The pictures and what we’ve heard from residents certainly confirms that it’s quite devastating,” said Power.
“We definitely could recognize early on that this was a significant event.”
Khalil Karbani, a Taradale resident and an advocate for community supports following the storm, echoed that he wasn’t shocked by the storm’s financial tally.
He believes the number of claims and the $1.2-billion figure will continue to climb over the coming weeks.
“From the residents that we’ve spoken to, not all of them have even had an insurance assessor come to their house yet to quote for the damage,” Karbani said.
“Just for my own example, we didn’t get our car examined until today, and now they’ll tell us whether it’s a writeoff or how much damage there is. I’m not an isolated incident. There’s so many other people in the same boat as us.”
Chahal said that while the provincial government shoulders most of the responsibility for disaster relief, he plans to introduce a notice of motion to Calgary city council that he said would work to introduce supports and better framework for future events.
He said the legacy of this storm should be finding ways to protect
Calgarians from major financial hits the next time extreme weather affects the city.
“We want to find ways to become more resilient in the future, and that’s something I’m looking to bring forward,” Chahal said. “I think everybody — across the city, the province and Canada — needs to see this as a tremendous impact on our community here, but also see what we can take out of this to ensure that we are better as we move forward, as we recover.”
The notice of motion is the logical next step, Chahal said, with cleanup efforts in affected communities wrapping up. The councillor said the city collected nearly 550,000 kilograms of waste after the hailstorm.
Karbani called on the provincial government to expand supports for the storm, saying announced support for overland flooding will assist only a small proportion of those affected.
He sent a letter to all three levels of government Wednesday requesting government representatives sit down with community members to discuss next steps.
“We’ve been told ‘x’ from the city, ‘y’ from the province and ‘z’ from the feds, and none of them are making any sense, so we’ve asked all of them to join us for a roundtable,” Karbani said.
According to CATIQ data, of the 10 costliest natural disasters in Canadian history, six took place in Alberta.
Power said insurers have been on the ground assessing damage since the storm and continue to help residents. She said insurers were named as essential workers early in the pandemic and that additional health protocols are being followed.
She added that those affected by the storm who have questions about the insurance process or their settlement can contact 1-844-2ASK-IBC.