Financial assistance available for flood-affected people in the Lower Mainland (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness

Media Relations
250 880-6430

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What to know about Disaster Financial Assistance

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.