Less than half of eligible people accept southern Alberta floodway zone buyout

CALGARY – Less than half of the eligible people in southern Alberta who live in areas hit by floods in June have accepted a government offer to buy them out.

The province says 46 of the 254 people who live in the government-designated floodway zone have agreed to move.

The cost so far to taxpayers under the program is $42 million.

Another 55 people expressed interest in the offer by Saturday’s deadline.

An official with Alberta’s Flood Recovery Task Force says negotiations with those people will continue in the coming months.

That means 153 people are staying put, which means they won’t be eligible for disaster recovery money in the event of future floods.