This release was issued under a previous government.
Municipalities affected by natural disasters in 2017-18 will receive more than $39 million through the Disaster Recovery Program and the Municipal Wildfire Assistance Program to help them rebuild and recover.
“When disaster strikes, Albertans need to have confidence that there is an effective program to help them recover. There can be great challenges when trying to overcome the financial loss as a result of disasters, and we are committed to supporting Albertans and municipalities through these challenging times.”
Disaster Recovery Program
The Disaster Recovery Program helps communities recover from undue hardship as a result of an extraordinary disaster. In order to be considered extraordinary, the disaster must meet certain criteria relating to rainfall, streamflow, ice jams, overland flood, wildfire or strong winds.
Homeowners, tenants, small businesses and agricultural operations are eligible to apply for funding that will go towards cleanup costs and repairing uninsurable damage to infrastructure and buildings.
Program centres will be set up in communities to assist individuals during their application process. In the meantime, residents and business owners are encouraged to visit aema.alberta.ca/recovery-advice to learn what steps they should take after a disaster.
2018 spring flooding - $29.1 million
- Southern Alberta: 19 communities south of the Red Deer River.
- Northern Alberta: Saddle Hills County, County of Grande Prairie, Village of Hythe and the Town of Sexsmith.
- Irrigation Districts: Bow River Irrigation District, Eastern Irrigation District, St. Mary River Irrigation District, Taber Irrigation District and Western Irrigation District.
2018 ice jam - $7.9 million
- Woodlands County and Mackenzie County will receive funding to recover from uninsurable flood damage resulting from ice jams.
Municipal Wildfire Assistance Program
The Municipal Wildfire Assistance Program helps communities outside of the Forest Protection Area recover costs associated with fighting wildfires. As fire insurance for homes and businesses is considered to be readily and reasonably available in Alberta, the program is designed to support municipalities.
2017 wildfires - $1.9 million
- Cardston County, Municipal District of Acadia, Cypress County and Wheatland County qualified for funding as they are located outside of the Forest Protection Area and incurred damages exceeding $25 per capita.