By TERRY PUGH
A severe storm on June 21 dumped exceptional amounts of rain and hail on Martensville, causing serious overland flood damage to several properties, including the city-owned Civic Centre.
Martensville City Council passed a resolution at a special council meeting on Tuesday, July 9 asking the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) to designate the city as an eligible assistance area under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP).
PDAP is designed to help residents, small businesses, agricultural operations, First Nations and communities recover from natural disasters, including flooding, tornadoes and other severe weather-related events. The program may help cover the cost of uninsurable losses, clean-up, repairs and temporary relocation.
PDAP may cover damage or loss to uninsurable property.
Typically, overland flooding is not covered by most insurance policies. However, some Saskatchewan insurance companies recently started offering policies protecting homeowners from overland flooding. Residents are advised to check their insurance policies to see if they’re covered, and to obtain adequate overland flooding damage when purchasing insurance.
In order for residents or the city to be eligible to apply for PDAP assistance, an application for designation must be approved by the SPSA. Part of this application includes proof of damage exceeding $5,000, as well as a resolution from the municipal council.
The motion passed by Martensville City Council now allows Martensville residents and businesses whose property experienced damage in excess of $5,000 to apply for assistance under the PDAP.
Martensville Infrastructure and Planning Director Matt Gruza said it’s important for affected residents to contact City Hall at 306-931-2166 as soon as possible in order to be eligible for PDAP funding.
The program has a 30-day deadline from the date of the disaster to make the application.
“It’s very time-sensitive,” said Gruza. “The deadline is July 21. So that’s a tight window.”
The city will be making an application under the PDAP for damage to a portion of the Civic Centre, according to Gruza.
“The interior walls of the building in the Great Plains College area suffered damage as a result of water flowing in,” said Gruza. “That portion of the building is at a lower elevation, so all the surface flooding ended up in that area.”