With Okanagan Lake having receded to a safe level as of July 29, the 90-day deadline for residents who may have been impacted by the flooding that began May 4 to apply for Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) has been set as Oct. 27, 2017.

DFA is available to homeowners, residential tenants, small business owners, farmers, charitable organizations and local government bodies who were unable to obtain insurance to cover these flood-related losses. The purpose of DFA is to provide a helping hand to get people and local governments back on their feet after an uninsurable disaster. DFA can help to restore the essentials. It is not a substitute for insurance.

Applications for this DFA event in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, the North Okanagan Regional District, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District and the Central Okanagan Regional District (including all electoral areas and municipalities within each regional district) must be received by Emergency Management BC (EMBC) by Oct. 27, 2017.

British Columbians can access the DFA application at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance

Facts about Disaster Financial Assistance:

DFA is available to qualifying homeowners, residential tenants, small business owners, farm owners and charitable organizations. Applicants should be aware of the following:

• This DFA is specific to the flooding event that occurred between May 4 and July 29, 2017.
• Financial assistance is provided for each accepted claim at 80% of the amount of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000, to a maximum claim of $300,000.
• Claims may be made in more than one category (e.g., homeowner and farm owner).
• A homeowner or residential tenant must show that the home is their principal residence.
• Seasonal or recreational properties, hot tubs, patios, pools, garden tools, landscaping, luxury items (like jewelry, fur coats and collectibles), and recreational items (like bicycles) are not eligible for assistance.
• Small business owners and farm owners must demonstrate it is their primary source of income. Owners of damaged rental property must apply and qualify as a small business.
• Charitable organizations must provide a benefit of service to the community at large.

Assistance is also available to local governments for:

• Emergency response measures authorized by EMBC by response task number, including incremental costs associated with their Emergency Operations Centre. Financial assistance is provided for each accepted response claim at 100%. Completed response claim summaries and supporting documentation must be sent to the respective EMBC Regional Office.
• Recovery measures to replace essential materials and rebuild or replace essential public infrastructures to the condition it was in before the disaster. Assistance is provided for each accepted recovery claim at 80% of the amount of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000.

Listen and learn about flood insurance and British Columbia's DFA program:

Johanna Morrow is EMBC’s manager of recovery and funding programs: https://soundcloud.com/bcgov/bc_flood_insurance_dfa?in=bcgov/sets/emergencyinfobc