By Sarah Wallace

PDAP claims see little change between 2012 and 2013

Dec 23, 2013 | 8:47 AM

Between 2012 and 2013, the number of claims filed to the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) in the Prince Albert area was mostly unchanged.

The PDAP program provides financial assistance to help residents, communities and small businesses recover from the effects of natural disasters.

According to Karen Lautsch, assistant deputy minister responsible for public safety with the ministry of government relations, there were 80 claims in 2012 compared to 77 claims in 2013.

“The City of Prince Albert itself has not designated for assistance under the program and hasn’t provided or received any claims for 2011, 2012 or 2013,” Lautsch said.

For 2013, they’ve received claims from the RMs of Prince Albert, Buckland, Garden River, Canwood and Duck Lake, and in total there are about 77 claims. Lautsch said the claims are “both private, which would be residential claims, or agricultural claims and municipal claims as well.”

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PDAP helps people based on what kind of property they have.

“We can have private resident claims; those claims are typically where people have experienced damages to, most common would be to a basement being flooded and having to repair some of the damage in your basement,” she explained.

“In other areas, specifically in the more rural areas, we’ve had lots of agricultural claims and those would be where agricultural property owners have had damages [things like] their roadways to get in and out of their properties, their bins for storing grain, that sort of thing.”

She said municipalities also experience damage and since 2011 they’ve experienced more damage.

“Those damages are typically where roads have been washed out; culverts may not have been able to carry the load and need replacement, roads need to be re-graveled, or in cases where they’ve had to actually cut the road, so they could make a channel for the water to run through.”

In 2012, there were about 80 claims and most of those claims have been closed, with some claims coming in for flooding damage.

Under the program claims for private residents, the maximum PDAP will pay out is up to $240,000 for municipalities there is no maximum but there is a deductible.

Lautsch said claims have been consistent over the past few years around Prince Albert. 

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid