The storm hit northeast Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County hardest.

It damaged at least 70,000 homes and vehicles, and destroyed entire crops, as hailstones the size of tennis balls fell at 80 to 100 km/h.

The $1.2 billion is just a preliminary estimate and could rise, Power said, as total costs are finalized in the coming months.

The provincial government announced financial support for residents who experienced overland flooding, as overland flooding insurance is often not available in flood-prone areas.

But residents in northeast Calgary have said that’s not enough, and have called on the province to declare the storm a natural disaster, which would allow them to access relief funds. 

Many residents in that quadrant of the city are immigrants to Canada, and many were already facing financial hardships tied to the pandemic and oil price crash.

6 of Canada’s 10 costliest disasters have hit Alberta

Six of the 10 costliest natural disasters in Canada’s history have hit Alberta, Power said. 

The most expensive on record was the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, which cost nearly $4 billion. The next highest was the 2013 flooding that put downtown Calgary and much of southern Alberta under water, at a cost of $3.5 billion.

Power said while no single storm will cause insurance premiums to increase, June’s hailstorm is part of a pattern.

“It’s hard to ignore the fact Canada has been hit hard with natural disasters over the last decade, we’re seeing much more frequent severe weather.… We are working with all levels of government to try and reduce risk and build as resilient of communities as possible, investing in infrastructure, getting people out of floodplains,” she said.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said it has deployed its mobile assistance unit to help people in the region access insurance information.