‘Unprecedented’ destruction: Ontario sees $1B in insured damage from summer floods

Summer 2024 volition spell down arsenic 1 of the costliest summers for flooding successful Ontario’s history.

In fact, this past summertime sits conscionable down 2013 arsenic the astir costly with the state seeing much than $1 cardinal successful insured damage from floods, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says.

“Ontarians person been deed hard by flooding this year, and the harm we’ve seen is unprecedented,” said the IBC’s Amanda Dean, vice-president successful Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

“The affectional distress that this summer’s floods person caused thousands of Ontario residents cannot beryllium overlooked.”

Mid-way done August, Global News meteorologist Ross Hull said galore successful the province, particularly successful the Greater Toronto Area, we’re already experiencing the wettest summertime ever.

However, 2 storms stood retired from the pack.

In July, a flash-flooding event that resulted successful partial shutdown of Toronto’s Don Valley Expressway caused much than $940 cardinal successful insured damage.

Two days of dense rainfall and thunderstorms connected Aug. 17 and 18 led to important flood harm successful Mississauga, Etobicoke and different parts of the Greater Toronto Area. The IBC said Wednesday that lawsuit resulted successful much than $100 cardinal successful insured damage.

In addition, a tornado was confirmed to person touched down and caused harm to spot successful Ayr, Ont., that aforesaid weekend.

Last month, the IBC said summertime 2024 was the astir destructive season successful Canadian past for insured losses owed to terrible weather.

It lone took 2 months – July and August – for that declaration to beryllium made; utmost upwind events during that clip pushed the 2024 year-to-date tally for insured harm to much than $7.7 billion.

By comparison, insurers paid retired an mean of $701 cardinal successful claims annually for terrible upwind losses from 2001 to 2010. Insured losses successful 2024 are present valued astatine much than 10 times that number.

“Canada has not done capable to prepare,” said Craig Stewart, vice president of clime alteration and national issues with the IBC, successful a quality merchandise Wednesday.

“Governments indispensable enactment unneurotic to program a way guardant that amended protects communities and families crossed the country, and to avert an insurability situation arsenic millions of caller homes are built. This is simply a whole-of-society situation and requires each leaders and stakeholders to travel unneurotic to make a nationalist enactment program to guarantee Canada is amended protected.”