Canadian Prairie Storm Tops $45M In Insured Damage

The hail and windstorms that swept across parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on June 12 caused more than $45 million in insured damage, according to the preliminary estimate by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ).The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said in a statement on Thursday that the storms brought wind gusting as strong as 116 kilometres per hour, with hail up to 6 centimetres in diameter reported throughout Medicine Hat, Alta. and surrounding areas. The storm also knocked down and damaged many trees in the area and as many as 4,000 people lost power, the IBC reported.