OTTAWA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — A severe hailstorm occurred in Calgary of western Canada in August resulted in nearly 2.8 billion Canadian dollars (2.06 billion U.S. dollars) in insured damage, making it the second-costliest natural disaster in Canada’s history, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said Wednesday.
Only the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire resulted in higher damages, IBC said, adding that with yet another record-setting summer for insured losses due to severe weather, these losses will create claims cost pressures.
“Insurers paid out more in claims for this hail event than the federal government has invested on climate adaptation over the past decade,” said Craig Stewart, vice president of Climate Change and Federal Issues at IBC.
On Aug. 5, severe thunderstorms developed over southern Alberta and moved east, producing significant and damaging hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding in parts of Calgary. Environment and Climate Change Canada said it received multiple reports of hailstones the size of chicken eggs damaging homes and vehicles.
By the end of the storm, almost one in five homes in Calgary was impacted with over 130,000 claims, IBC said.
According to IBC, families and businesses across Canada have been grappling with the most damaging summer on record due to severe weather, with approximately 228,000 insurance claims, or a 406 percent increase compared to the previous 20-year average.
Insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed 2 billion Canadian dollars (1.47 billion U.S. dollars) annually. By comparison, between 2001 and 2010, Canadian insurers averaged 701 million Canadian dollars (516 million U.S. dollars) a year in losses related to severe weather, said IBC.
