Residents in Windsor and Essex County have been deemed eligible to apply for provincial disaster relief after the area was flooded.
As many as 5,000 homes in the region were affected by flooding, which was the result of record rainfall just last week.
“Affected individuals, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations that have experienced property damage or loss as a result of this disaster may be eligible to receive help with emergency and recovery expenses,” the Ministry of Municipal Affairs announced yesterday.
The announcement came after officials visited the area earlier this week to examine the flood damage.
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CBC reported that while homeowners in Windsor, LaSalle, Essex, Tecumseh, Amherstburg and Lakeshore are eligible to apply for assistance under the program, there are no guarantees that they will receive financial aid.
According to the ministry’s website, the program provides “partial financial assistance to return essential property to its basic function.” Flooding caused by “sewer backup is not generally eligible under the program,” the ministry said, but “there is a special provision to provide assistance to low-income households.”
Last September, 583 homeowners had applied for the program, but only 122 claims were paid out. The other 235 claims were denied and another 226 remain buried under bureaucracy.
The disaster relief’s limitations led three mayors from the area to call on Premier Kathleen Wynne to establish a provincially-supported insurance program for homeowners who cannot secure flood insurance.
A spokesperson for the ministry, however, said that there are currently no plans to change the program.
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