Insured damage from Niagara region summer flooding estimated at nearly $360M

Nearly $360 million — that’s the cost of the damage to insured property in the Niagara region following the devastating floods it saw this summer.

Residents continue to clean up and deal with the financial fallout, with many of them running large fans and dehumidifiers in their basements 24/7, which is also making their hydro bills skyrocket.

“Oh, like tripled, because we had probably — I’m gonna say like, ten plus fans, dehumidifiers, all of that,” said Melissa Pirri, a Beamsville resident.

Pirri is still cleaning up after her basement flooded during significant storms this summer.

“Definitely a headache — total gut of the basement, from front to back of the basement, not just one room,” said Pirri.

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She lives on Hickory Lane in Beamsville, a street that was hit hard.

One resident mentioned flooding in their basement with three inches of water and four feet of water on the street.

“I’ve lived in Beamsville for probably 37 years now — first time flooding, never flooded before,” said Pirri.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the Niagara region floods caused nearly $360 million in insured damage, and the number of claims are through the roof.

“I can tell you it is well over 6,000 — it could even be closer to 10,000,” said Anne Marie Thomas, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. “In the insurance industry, an event is considered a ‘catastrophic event’ when it reaches in excess of $30 million in insured damage, so this is 10 times that.”

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The bureau says people should expect that weather events like this will become more frequent.

“Prevention is always the key, so do an assessment of your property and take a look at your land — is the land sloping toward your house or away from your house, do you have any water damage mitigation, features installed in your home?,” said Thomas.

As the residents rebuild one step at a time, they’re concerned that aging infrastructure could make their work meaningless.

“We would love to fix it up, but I’m totally afraid that it’s just going to happen again,” said Pirri.

CHCH News reached out to the province about if they will be providing support for residents, especially with the hydro bills many people are seeing.

They have not responded.

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