Nenshi wants government help after hailstorm
The mayor of Calgary wants disaster relief from other orders of government after a powerful hailstorm shredded vinyl siding and shattered windows in several neighbourhoods.
Naheed Nenshi estimates Saturday’s lashing caused $1 billion or more in damage and hit tens of thousands of homes, including his own in the city’s hard-hit northeast.
“My house was bashed up pretty badly - lots of holes in the siding. I thought I had it pretty bad and I was allowed to feel bad for myself for a minute or two, until I had the opportunity to see what had happened to other people,” he said Monday.
“We are really in a place where the damage is extraordinary.”
Emergency chief Tom Sampson said some of the hail was as big as tennis balls.
The Calgary Fire Department responded to as many calls in a sixhour span as it would in an entire day as streets were deluged. It conducted 23 water rescues, mostly of people trapped in their vehicles. No injuries were reported.
Coun. George Chahal said no community was spared in his ward in the city’s northeast corner.
“I’ve never seen so much damage within a block of homes - siding shredded, eavestroughs, downspouts damaged,” he said of his tour of the Taradale neighbourhood right after the storm. “I think every car on the block had windows broken.”
Saddle Ridge to the north was hit with so much hail that roads were impassable and it looked like a snowstorm had just hit, Chahal added.
The area is home to many new Canadians, so the councillor said the city is hoping to help with translation and other services so residents can navigate insurance claims.
In the legislature on Monday, NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley urged Premier Jason Kenney and his United Conservatives to declare a disaster so Calgarians could access relief funds.
Kenney said he had been in contact with Nenshi.
“I’ve not heard a request for a disaster declaration from the municipality, but we will continue to stay in touch with them,” the premier said.
He added that the Alberta Emergency Management Agency is conducting hydrology tests to determine whether the storm could be considered extraordinary. That, together with a request from the city, could lead to a disaster declaration.