National

Insured damage costs rise for Fort McMurray flood

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Aug, 2020 06:04 PM

An April flood that led to the evacuation of several northern Alberta communities caused more than half a billion dollars in insured damage.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the cost of the flooding in Fort McMurray has risen to $522 million from an initial tally in June of $288 million.

Officials say the increase comes from updated figures on the flood's impact on commercial property, personal property and automobiles.

Several communities, including Fort McMurray and Fort Vermilion, had to be evacuated after nearby rivers spilled their banks due to massive ice jams.

About 13,000 Albertans were forced from their homes.

The flooding was one of several extreme weather events in Alberta this year, which also included a $1.2-billion hailstorm in Calgary in June, wind damage in Edmonton in July and another hailstorm in Calgary on July 24.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Doctors say they're becoming increasingly concerned about how they're going to handle the swelling backlog of elective surgeries once the immediate COVID-19 threat has ebbed.

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Two more poultry processing plants in British Columbia say they have workers who have tested positive for COVID-19. Sofina Foods Inc. in Port Coquitlam and Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry in Chilliwack say each of their facilities has one worker who has tested positive.

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

While researchers across the planet race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, a new poll suggests Canadians are divided over whether getting it should be mandatory or voluntary — setting up a potentially prickly public health debate if a vaccine becomes available. The federal government has committed tens of millions of dollars to help find or create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has infected at least 48,000 Canadians and killed more than 2,700.

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canada's national police force wants a digital tool to harvest data from a sweeping variety of online sources, including the darkest reaches of the internet, to provide early information on threats such as disease outbreaks and mass shootings. The software would allow an RCMP officer to quickly mine data about a person's internet activities, from an emoji posting on Facebook to an illicit firearm purchase on the so-called darknet.

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Canada's first-ever virtual House of Commons kicked off this afternoon with almost 90 per cent of MPs dialed in to start. The House of Commons special committee on COVID-19 is meeting via videoconference this afternoon. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in his opening statement that he could see that 297 of the 338 MPs were online at that moment.

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his mother was doing fine Tuesday after a fire at her downtown Montreal apartment sent her to hospital. Margaret Trudeau, 71, was transported to hospital after the fire that broke out on the patio of the building just before midnight Monday.