The August hailstorm in Calgary caused nearly $2.8 billion in damages, with claims from tens of thousands after baseball-sized hail damaged buildings, shattered windshields, and grounded over a dozen WestJet flights.
The hailstorm that struck southern Alberta on Aug. 5 is now the second costliest disaster in Canadian history, following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, which caused around $4 billion in insured damages, according to the
Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), citing Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.
“Alberta’s insurers have been on the ground assisting customers with needed repairs and financial support, and working to process over 130,000 claims from the hailstorm. Rebuilding will take time and our industry will continue to be there to support impacted communities every step of the way,” Aaron Sutherland, IBC vice-president for Western and Pacific, said in a Sept. 11 press release.
The hailstorm brought baseball-sized hail, up to 7.5 centimetres across, to the hamlet of Queenstown. Other areas, including Mossleigh and Calgary, saw hail as large as tennis balls or chicken eggs, according to Environment Canada’s
Aug. 6 weather summary.
The disaster also grounded 17 WestJet planes, resulting in 676 cancelled flights. The airline
told The Epoch Times last week that six planes have returned to service, while the others are still under repair.
Alberta has faced some of the costliest disasters in Canadian history, significantly impacting home, business, and auto insurance premiums, according to the IBC. In addition to the recent hailstorm, insurers are also addressing the Jasper wildfire, which has caused over $880 million in insured damages.
The Calgary area, in particular, has faced several catastrophic hailstorms in recent years, including the 2020 and 2021 storms that resulted in over $1.2 billion and $700 million in insured damages, respectively, according to IBC.
Canadian families across the country have also experienced one of the most damaging summers on record due to severe weather. Roughly
228,000 insurance claims have been filed related to four major catastrophic weather events, representing a 406 percent increase compared to the average during the previous 20 years, IBC reported.
In July, heavy rainfall reaching more than 100 millimetres caused widespread flooding and major power outages across Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario. The flash floods caused over $940 million in insured damage, the IBC reported in an Aug. 30
news release.
While the costs of damages from the remnants of
tropical storm Debby, which struck Quebec municipalities in mid-August and particularly affected the Montreal area, have not yet been published, they are expected to be substantial due to the heavy rainfall and sustained flooding.
IBC noted that insured losses from severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $2 billion annually. In contrast, between 2001 and 2010, Canadian insurers averaged $701 million per year in such losses.
