June storm causes C$90m claims in Canada

A mid-June storm affecting parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba resulted in more than C$90 million ($68.4 million) in insured damage, according to data from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification.

Weather-related insured losses in those two provinces have now surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars since the beginning of 2017, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) noted.

In Saskatchewan, strong winds and large hail, in some cases as big as a baseball, caused significant damage to property, damaging vehicles, windows and siding, crops and industrial equipment, according to the IBC. In Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, the storm also downed power lines, causing power outages.

"Insured losses from storms are only part of the picture,” said Bill Adams, vice-president, Western, IBC.

“Taxpayers are also footing the bill for this damage, since many losses that are uninsured are paid through provincial disaster financial arrangements. We are witnessing more frequent, intense storms, consistent with the results of a changing climate," Adams noted. "These losses show that urgent action is needed on adaptation as well as mitigation. There are concrete things that can be done by provinces and communities right now such as better land use planning and changes to building codes."

Over the past year, a series of severe weather events have hit parts of the prairies, resulting in more than C$250 million in damage. The events included a windstorm in October 2017 in Winnipeg and Dauphin, Manitoba, and in parts of Alberta, resulting in damage of over C$100 million. Wind and water damage in July 2017 in Yorkton and Melville, Saskatchewan, and in parts of Alberta, resulting in damage of over C$50 million. A hailstorm in June 2017 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, resulting in damage of over C$46 million. Furthermore, wind, water and flood damage in May 2017 near Lacombe, Alberta, resulting in C$68 million in damage.

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