Hailstones as big as golf balls in Calgary caused $2.8 billion in damage

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says a severe hail storm that battered Calgary last month is the second-costliest event in Canadian history.

The bureau says the initial damage estimates come from Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., which collects information on losses from disasters.

It says the storm racked up nearly $2.8 billion in insured losses and is second only to the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray.

The Aug. 5 storm brought significant hail, strong winds, heavy rain and localized flooding to parts of Calgary, affecting about one in five homes in the city. 

Hail stones as big as golf balls pummelled the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, damaging planes at WestJet and Flair Airlines and forcing them to ground 10 per cent of their fleets for repairs and inspections.

Alberta has experienced five of the 10 costliest disasters in Canadian history, all of which have occurred since 2016.

"Catastrophic weather has hit our province hard this year and the impact on Calgary residents from this summer’s hail storm is unprecedented,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice-president, western and Pacific, with the insurance bureau.   

Craig Stewart, the bureau's vice-president for climate change and federal issues, said: "Insurers paid out more in claims for this one hail event than the federal government has invested on climate adaptation over the past decade."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.