Alberta storm results in estimated insured costs of more than $100 million

The preliminary estimate of insured damage for last month’s severe thunderstorm event in and around Edmonton is pegged at more than $100 million, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports.

Thousands of claims have been filed for damage to homes, cars and businesses in the wake of the storm, confirms data collected by Property Claim Services Canada, a service that tracks insured losses arising from catastrophic events across the country.

An east-west band of the city was particularly hard hit as the storm made its way through the greater Edmonton area in the early hours of July 12, 2012. Emergency personnel were called to more than 40 storm-related incidents, including to douse two fires started by lightning, respond to four calls of flooding and electrical hazards and rescue about 20 drivers and passengers from vehicles on the flooded Whitemud Freeway.

The heavy rainfall resulted in flooding to streets, basements, businesses, automobiles and construction sites, notes the IBC statement. Beyond the flooding, the storm brought with it strong winds and golf-ball sized hail.

“It is astonishing how much damage a storm can cause in a short period of time,” says Heather Mack, IBC’s Alberta director of government relations.

As noted in Telling the Weather Story: Can Canada Manage the Storms Ahead?, these types of severe weather events are on the rise. In Alberta, the report projects more wildfires, hail, storms and heavy rainfall events that can result in flash flooding.