Ongoing flooding in province a stark reminder of need for government to invest in resilience
Severe weather and flooding that hammered southern British Columbia (BC) and parts of Alberta this past December caused close to $90 million in insured damage, according to estimates from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ). BC’s Fraser Valley suffered the vast majority of losses, with $74 million in damage, primarily to homes and businesses.
The severe weather and flooding event led to evacuations, power outages, and damaged homes and farms, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of thousands of British Columbians. Tragically, it also led to loss of life.
“Severe weather and flooding has once again disrupted the lives of residents and business owners across Southwestern BC and Vancouver Island,” said Aaron Sutherland, Vice-President, Pacific and Western, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). “Coming just four years after the devastating 2021 floods, this most recent flood damage is a painful reminder of the need to build BC’s resilience and better protect communities from the new weather reality we face.”
In the aftermath of BC’s 2021 flooding, the province developed a robust BC flood strategy that included measures to better protect families and communities. Unfortunately, the strategy remains underfunded.
IBC is calling on the BC government to prioritize funding for the strategy to better protect residents in the future. This funding should include investment in flood risk mapping, protective infrastructure, and incentives to help households and businesses flood-proof their properties.
“Investing in community resilience and damage prevention is always more cost-effective than paying to rebuild year after year following every disaster,” added Sutherland. “By prioritizing risk reduction and mitigation, the government can increase the number of homeowners that have access to flood insurance, which provides much more robust support than the government disaster assistance that high-risk homeowners are forced to rely on today.”
Residents and business owners should stay in close contact with their insurance representatives and adjusters as they progress through the claims process. Anyone with general auto, home or business insurance questions can also contact IBC’s Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422) or AskIBCWest@ibc.ca.
The amount of insured damage is an estimate provided by CatIQ (www.CatIQ.com) under licence to IBC.
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