570 Thunder Bay flood victims file claims

The deadline for some flood victimsto submit claimshas come and gone but in its wake, 570 applications were handed in.

Residents without insurance or those who were under-insured had until Monday night to turn in the paperwork to the Thunder Bay Disaster Relief Committee for financial assistance.

The program manager with the Disaster Relief Fund said a rush of 200 advance claim forms came in on Monday.

"I'm glad that the public came in and dropped off their forms," Kari Chiappetta said.

"We were a little concerned that we didn't have a lot of the forms in and worried that the community wasn't aware it was the deadline. So we did a big push in the media."

Maureen Deschutter, whose Dease Street home was hit hard by the flooding, said she has been impressed by how easy the claims process has been. Deschutter said she had to turn to the city for help because she didnt have any insurance.

"The walls and the rugs had to be removed," she said. "It's just been awful. I'll be able to fix my basement and get it done. I've learned the city does have a lot of nice people."

The full claims will be due in October. In the meantime, Chiappetta said the relief committee needs to continue to fundraise so claims can be met.