Boundary flooding event eligible for Disaster Financial Assistance
By RDKB
The Province of BC has opened its Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) program to individuals and local governments in Regional District Kootenay Boundary Electoral Areas C/Christina Lake, D/Rural Grand Forks and E/West Boundary who have incurred uninsurable losses from landslides and overland flooding due to the 2020 freshet.
The purpose of DFA is to assist individuals who have incurred damage to their principal residence that is not covered by insurance and to help small business/farm owners when their livelihood is at risk.
Eligible applicants:
- Homeowners for their principal residence for which they received the Home Owner Grant or were entitled to receive the grant.
- Residential tenants for the home they occupy and where the majority of their personal effects are located.
- Small business owners for a business that is managed by the applicant on a day to day basis, is the owner’s major source of income, has gross sales of less than $1 million per year, and employs less than 50 people at any one time.
- Farmers who own a farm operation that is identified by the BC Assessment Authority as an agricultural operation, is owned and operated by a person whose full time employment is as a farmer, and is the means by which the applicant derives the majority of their income.
- Charitable organizations that are not-for-profit and provide a benefit or service to the community at large, have existed for at least 12 months, and are registered under the Society Act.
Eligible losses:
- DFA can compensate individuals for 80% of eligible claims, after the first $1,000 to a maximum claim of $300,000.
- DFA is only for uninsurable losses and for losses where there is no other program offered by local, provincial, federal or international governments or agencies.
- DFA is available for essential items only. It provides or reinstates the necessities of life, including help to repair and restore damaged homes and to re-establish or maintain the viability of small businesses and working farms. Loss of land or damage to land (except for some farm land) is not eligible for DFA.
Applications must be submitted by September 28, 2020. Additional information about the DFA Program and specifics about eligibility, eligible losses and the application process are available at http://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance. All applicants should review eligibility requirements before submitting a claim.
The Disaster Financial Assistance is a provincial program administered by Emergency Management BC, part of the Ministry of Justice.
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