CatIQ, an independent Toronto-based organization providing catastrophe insurance data and a subsidiary of PERILS, has released its fourth industry loss estimate for the flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Debby in Ontario and Quebec in August 2024.
The fourth estimate, reflecting market conditions six months after the event, stands at about C$2.82 billion, marking an increase from the third loss estimate of about C$2.77 billion, which was issued 90 days after the event. The estimate includes losses related to commercial and residential property, as well as vehicle claims.
The updated loss report includes a breakdown of property and motor losses by FSA. The CatIQ subscriber platform provides meteorological data, including rainfall totals, damage reports, news articles and images documenting the event’s impact.
“The remnants of Hurricane Debby were especially impactful for residents of Quebec, where more than 75,000 claims of personal property damage were filed,” said Caroline Floyd, director at CatIQ.
Following the established reporting schedule, a fifth update on the market loss from the remnants of Debby is scheduled for release on August 8, 2025, one year after the event.
Hurricane Debby originated as a tropical depression on Aug. 1, 2024, moving through the western Caribbean and southeastern United States before being absorbed by a large atmospheric trough on Aug. 7. Between Aug. 8 and 10, rainfall exceeded 100 mm in an area spanning eastern Lake Ontario, Montreal, and the St. Lawrence River toward Quebec City. The heaviest rainfall occurred in southern Quebec, where some areas recorded more than 200 mm, leading to extensive flooding and damage.
“While Atlantic Canada is the more obvious target for tropical cyclone activity in Canada, southern Ontario and southern Quebec often see the impacts of remnant storms, many of which follow similar paths to Storm Debby,” Floyd added. “In fact, since 2010, the insured losses from other remnant tropical storms in Ontario and Quebec have totaled more than CAD 500 million.”
