DISASTER Financial Assistance (DFA) is available for eligible people, businesses and communities in the Lower Mainland that were affected by flooding due to the atmospheric river from October 18-20, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness announced on Monday.
This assistance is for flood-affected people and communities within the geographic boundaries of the following areas:
* City of Port Coquitlam
* City of Coquitlam
* City of North Vancouver
* District of West Vancouver
* District of North Vancouver
* Squamish First Nation
DFA may compensate for sudden, unexpected and uninsurable losses that are essential. This may include building repairs to a damaged principal residence, replacement of essential personal effects, cleanup and debris removal.
People can access specifics about the event and can submit their DFA application online at: www.gov.bc.ca/
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.
Applications for this 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 DFA is February 23, 2025.
Indigenous communities and local governments that have infrastructure damage as a result of the flooding should submit a local government DFA 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:
* increase in 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;
* increased provincial contributions to local infrastructure recovery;
* the Province may provide a portion of the project’s estimated costs up front to help communities rebuild critical infrastructure projects faster; and
* a new online portal is available to make it easier for people and communities to apply for financial support for uninsurable losses after a disaster.
Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) applicants should be aware of the following:
* DFA is intended to compensate for sudden, unexpected and uninsurable losses. This may include building repairs, replacement of essential personal effects, eligible equipment and inventory, and clean up and debris removal.
* DFA is unable to compensate for losses for which insurance was reasonably and readily available and does not include compensation for losses to personal belongings including:
* damage to items located in basements, crawl spaces or similar low-lying storage areas unless the basement, crawl space or storage area was being used as an essential living area;
* outbuildings, detached or semi-detached garages or carports, or their contents;
* recreational structures such as hot tubs, patios, pools, fences or landscaping;
* personal items such as jewelry, collectibles, artwork, antiques, silverware, furs, decorative items, money and securities or books and printed matter; and
* recreational items such as fishing, hunting or camping equipment, audio-visual, camera or dark-room equipment, skates, skis, bicycles, games, toys, garden tools or lawn furniture.
* A homeowner or residential tenant must show that the home is their principal residence. Seasonal or recreational properties are not eligible for assistance.
* A claim may be made in more than one category (e.g., homeowner and farm owner).
* Some ineligible items include insurance deductibles, non-essential recreational items, land lost due to erosion, landscaping and luxury goods.
* Small business owners must have at least $10,000 per year in revenue from the business and gross sales of less than $2 million per year.
* Farm owners must demonstrate that the farm is owned and operated by a person whose full-time employment is a farmer and be the means by which the owner generates the majority of their income.
* DFA is limited to restoring actual damage caused by a specific disaster that has been declared eligible for compensation.
* Financial assistance is provided for each accepted claim at 80% of the amount of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000, to a maximum payment of $400,000.
Learn More:
Information, eligibility criteria, categories and applications can be found by calling toll-free 1 888 257-4777 or visiting:Â https://www.gov.bc.ca/
Local government application forms and additional information are available here:Â https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/
To learn about improvements the Province made to DFA after the November 2021 flooding event, visit:Â https://news.gov.bc.ca/26713
