Regina City Council has decided to apply for Saskatchewan’s Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) after damages caused by heavy rains that fell in the city earlier this month.
The 50-70 mm of rain wreaked havoc on the city, resulting in nearly 300 service requests.
Mayor Sandra Masters says the program will allow people to be compensated for damages not covered by their insurance.
“Given the weather event of June 11th, it’s clear that some folks didn’t have insurance coverage,” said Masters. “So, the least we could do is apply to the province which would make us eligible for the federal program, so that if they don’t have insurance, they’ll be eligible for disaster relief to cover any expenses of a flooded basements.”
Masters says the approval process could take weeks to months, but she is assuming the province will approve the application.
When it comes to rare storms like this, Masters says it’s a priority to try and compensate everyone possible.
“We call them weather events for a reason,” said Masters. “When something like that happens, overwhelming the system, we’re looking to assist residents where we can with programs that are available to them.”
This is the third PDAP application in the past 10 years, after applications were filed after rain events in 2014 and 2015.
When asked if the storm expedites the need for repairs to city infrastructure, Masters says the city is always upgrading.
“I think city infrastructure needs to be improved every day,” said Masters. “There’s a five-year capital, as it relates to infrastructure. Does this advance or accelerate it? I’m not sure because storm drains, wastewater are all part of every year’s capital infrastructure plan. There’s only so much construction work that can be done in a year, and this has been a focus for the last number of years. Improvements have been made, and will continue to be made.”
Eligibility requirements for PDAP can be found on the Saskatchewan website.
