Financial assistance expanded for people affected by flooding

VICTORIA - Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) eligibility has been expanded for more people, businesses and communities affected by flooding due to the atmospheric river event from Oct. 18-20, 2024.

People, businesses and communities in the following areas are now also eligible for DFA:

• City of Surrey;
• Village of Anmore; and
• City of Port Moody.

The new geographical areas are in addition to the Indigenous communities, electoral areas and municipalities that were declared eligible for DFA on Nov. 25, 2024.

For this event, DFA is available to homeowners, renters, business owners, farmers, corporation-owned properties and charitable organizations to cover uninsurable disaster-related losses. DFA is unable to compensate for losses for which insurance was reasonably and readily available.

People can access specifics about the event and can submit their DFA application online: https://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance

Applications for the DFA event must be submitted to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness within 90 calendar days of the event declaration. The deadline to submit applications for this event is now March 13, 2025. The new deadline applies to all communities, including those previously declared on Nov. 25, 2024.

Eligible local governments and First Nations that have infrastructure damage as a result of the flooding should submit a DFA for communities application as soon as possible.

The Province has enhanced and expanded the DFA program in recent years to better support people and communities. These changes include:

• increasing the maximum DFA support available per claim from $300,000 to $400,000;
• expanded eligibility for small businesses based on minimum income;
• expanded annual revenue threshold for small businesses from $1 million to $2 million so more businesses can qualify for DFA;
• expanded eligibility for the farming sector to include homes owned by corporations if the home is used as a primary residence; and
• increased provincial contributions to local infrastructure recovery.
• A new online portal is available to make it easier for people to apply for financial support for uninsurable losses after a disaster.
• The Province may also provide a portion of the project's estimated costs up front to help communities rebuild critical infrastructure projects faster.

Learn More:

Information, eligibility criteria, categories and applications can be found by calling toll-free 1 888 257-4777, or visiting:
https://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance

Local government and First Nation application forms and additional information are available online:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/local-emergency-programs/financial/communities-dfa

To learn about improvements the Province made to DFA after the November 2021 flooding, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/26713

A backgrounder follows.

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