Vanessa Big Eagle, a band councilor overseeing housing for the Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, faced significant damage to her own residence due to severe weather conditions. Reflecting on the impact, she mentioned, “We’re accustomed to various extreme weather events, but the unusually strong winds in May were unprecedented.” The adverse weather conditions affected 23 out of the 54 homes in her community, located 160 kilometers southeast of Regina. Vanessa Big Eagle’s own house suffered the most damage, with a large portion of the roof blown off.
Insurance claims have been filed for the damaged homes managed by the First Nation, but many residences remain in disrepair, resulting in one family having to seek temporary accommodation in a hotel. Vanessa Big Eagle expressed concern about the recurring nature of such weather-related damages, questioning whether it should be anticipated and budgeted for annually.
Recent data indicates a surge in insured losses in Saskatchewan due to severe weather events, potentially leading to an increase in insurance premiums. Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. reported that Saskatchewan experienced the highest dollar amount of insured losses from significant weather events last year, amounting to $450 million, the highest in the firm’s data collection history since 2008.
The extreme winds in June caused the most significant insured loss on record in the province, totaling $240 million, followed by wildfires in the northern region last summer. Laura Twidle, the president and CEO of Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc., highlighted the exceptional severity of the past two years in terms of insured losses.
Jason Thistlethwaite, a professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development, warned that even individuals whose properties remain undamaged could be impacted by higher insurance premiums and limited coverage as insurers seek to recover losses. Emphasizing the need to focus on preemptive measures to prevent property damage, Thistlethwaite underscored the increasing costs associated with managing climate risks and the necessity of shifting towards risk reduction strategies.
Repair companies in Saskatchewan, such as Leeway Mechanical Inc. and Fire & Flood, have observed a surge in demand for services to address weather-related property damages. Duane Lee and Allison Thompson of Leeway Mechanical Inc. noted a substantial increase in repair requests in recent years, including tasks like water extraction from basements and roof repairs. Similarly, Chris Kaban, the operational manager at Fire & Flood, reported a rise in calls, particularly in response to basement flooding incidents caused by severe weather conditions.
The escalating demand for repair services has prompted these companies to expand their workforce significantly in recent years. Chris Kaban mentioned that the weather conditions experienced have been reminiscent of storms not witnessed since the early 1990s.