The remains of the Glace Bay Car Wash in Cape Breton, N.S. – one of the many small businesses destroyed by Hurricane Fiona. (Pavel Gaborik/Youtube)
Halifax, Nova Scotia — Initial estimates by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) indicate that Hurricane Fiona has caused at least $660 million in insured damage, according to the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.
According to IBC, Hurricane Fiona is the most costly extreme weather event recorded in Atlantic Canada, and the tenth worst in Canada when measured by insured damages.
Nova Scotia suffered more than $385 million in insured damage, with Halifax being noted for a particularly high number of trees falling on cars.
Prince Edward Island suffered more than $220 million in insured damages, and suffered significant damage to housing, infrastructure and power lines.
New Brunswick suffered more than $30 million in insured damages, thanks to being on the fringe of the storm’s path. Nevertheless, power outages occured across the province.
Quebec suffered more than $11 million in insured damage, with extensive flooding and erosion in Iles-de-la-Madeleine and the Gaspé Peninsula coast.
Newfoundland and Labrador suffered more than $7 million in insured damages, largely from destroyed homes between Burgeo to Port aux Basques.
Given that the exact damages is still being tallied, a breakdown of the auto insurance is unavailable. However, publicly available images and videos depicts auto damage ranging from scratches and dents to extreme structural warping.
“Climate change is real, and the fatalities, emotional turmoil and financial consequences we’ve witnessed must be a call to action—we must prioritize the protection of all Canadians from the impacts of climate change,” said Amanda Dean, IBC’s Atlantic v-p.
