Last weekend's massive storm likely damaged 20,000 Calgary homes, officials say

As Calgarians continue to assess the damage after last weekend's torrential rain and hail, the city's leaders charted the next steps in Calgary's response.

At a press conference held Friday, Calgary Emergency Management Agencydeputy chief Sue Henry said city officials have been busy the past week helping citizens with the aftermath of the storm.

"We know that an emergency like this can be very overwhelming for citizens and difficult to know where to start your cleanup," she said. "We know there's been a lot of damage to the northeast area."

Northeast Calgary saw the most damage from last Saturday's storm, which pummelled the areawith hail measuring up to six centimetres across.

Heavy rain flooded parts of Deerfoot Trail, forcing firefighters to use inflatable rafts to rescue people who were stranded in their vehicles.

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Henry said the Insurance Bureau of Canada has reported 20,000 claims filed related to the event, including home, auto and business claims. City officials expect that number to increase.

The city will host an eventfor anyone who suffered damage and has questions about what to do next at the Genesis Centrein Martindaleon June 20.

Extent of damage still not fully known

Coun. George Chahal said there were around 20,000 homes affected, with damage to siding, eavestroughs, windows and roofs.

"Every car that I witnessed that was parked on the street last Saturday night is probably a writeoff," Chahal said. "Fortunately, we have not had any serious injuries."

The cost of the damage was estimated byCalgary Mayor Naheed Nenshito reach $1 billion or more earlier this week an estimate shared by Chahal on Friday.

"This is a real, huge impact to our community in northeast Calgary," said Chahal, who represents Ward 5.

Chahal said discussions would be held in the coming weeks to determine how Calgary and city council could better respond to future storms.

"That will take time. Right now, it's assessing the damage, providing the appropriate supports, connecting with insurance companies and ensuring we work together as all orders of government to find those gaps and support Calgarians during this time," he said.

This coming Saturday is Neighbour Day in Calgary, a tradition started after the 2013 floods. City officials said they hopepeople will use the annual celebration to help their neighbours with the damage.

WATCH |Calgary cleans up after the thunderstorm:

Calgary cleans up after destructive hail storm

4 years ago

Duration 2:03

Calgary residents are cleaning up after a massive storm flooded its streets, while baseball-sized hail damaged cars and homes, and at least one tornado touched down outside the city.

With files from The Canadian Press, Rachel Ward and Hala Ghonaim