Climate change is the most costly weather event to ever hit Atlantic Canada.

Climate change is the most costly weather event to ever hit Atlantic Canada.

Some Fiona consequences

Those of us who remember the advice of the “Fram man” in the 1972 commercial have witnessed many storms in Atlantic Canada. Some of the damage from recent storms is covered by insurance. Unfortunately, most of the cost of restoration will be borne by government. In both cases, individual people have to pay through taxes and insurance premiums. As we reflect on the “pay me now or pay me later” declaration, we understand that preparing for climate change and water, wind, fire, and erosion events will be less expensive than the costs of recovery and restoration.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said Wednesday the storm was the most costly extreme weather event ever recorded in Atlantic Canada in terms of insured damages based on the estimate provided by CatIQ.

IBC added that many of those affected by the storm were located in high-risk flood areas and floodplains where residential flood insurance coverage is not available.

As a result, the bureau said the overwhelming majority of costs for the disaster will be borne by government.

The storm made landfall in Nova Scotia on Sept. 24 and ripped through the region, knocking out power to more than 500,000 customers in the Maritimes.

The hurricane caused violent winds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour, torrential rainfall, flooding and downed trees, and resulted in several deaths, the IBC said.

The bureau said the storm also washed at least 20 homes into the ocean, primarily in Port aux Basques, N.L.

More than half of the insured damages were in Nova Scotia, said the IBC, at more than $385 million, with Prince Edward Island following with more than $220 million in insured damages. 

The second most expensive extreme weather event in Atlantic Canada was Hurricane Juan in 2003 at $192 million, according to the IBC. (Post-Tropical Storm Fiona Most Costly Weather Event to Ever Hit Atlantic Canada, New Estimate Says, 2022)

We need to encourage the government to press ahead with programs to reduce GHG emissions and thereby reduce average earth temperature rise and severity and frequency of the storms related to that temperature rise.

References

Post-tropical storm Fiona most costly weather event to ever hit Atlantic Canada, new estimate says. (2022, October 19). CBC. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/fiona-atlantic-canada-insured-damages-660-million-1.6621583?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar