According to a Cape Breton municipal affairs minister, residents in the area who are entitled to flood financial assistance but are still stuck waiting for a payout will see a 50% advance likely within two weeks.
Zach Churchill revealed that the decision to release advances was made to ensure that homeowners do not get caught up in red tape.
Learn more about Flood Damage insurance here.
“This is a complex situation. It involves environmental and oil assessments, as well as working with insurance companies,” Churchill said in a statement. “We said from the beginning we did not want impacted residents to be caught up in process.”
Churchill confirmed to
CBC News that the Emergency Management Office has received about 650 applications for disaster financial assistance.
CBC News reached out to Municipal Affairs on Friday to confirm the number of completed and/or outstanding applications, but no new details have been made available.
The maximum amount that a resident can claim for flood damage is $200,000.
The advance payment, Churchill noted, will not apply to the 17 homes deemed uninhabitable within a flood zone in Sydney. He added that those individuals will soon be contacted for an update on their claim status.
“The [Disaster Financial Assistance] program does not typically unfold in this way, but we also wanted to work quickly to address the immediate needs of homeowners,” Churchill explained. “Issuing the directive was the right thing to do to ensure we continue to help impacted residents through this difficult time.”
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