The Thunder Bay Disaster Relief Committee estimates they’ll need $15 million to cover flood damages in the city.
With the province’s two-for-one credit in play, the committee will need to raise $5 million itself, said chairman Wayne Fletcher.
They have looked at what the average claim was in cities like Goderich and Peterborough and compared it to the number of advance claim forms the city received and the number of people who have signed up for the Safe Homes program.
“That’s give us a ballpark figure,” said Fletcher, who added the $15 million would cover the necessities for those affected by the flood who didn’t have insurance or were underinsured.
“We’re talking furnaces, appliances, walls, flooring, a bed. It does not cover any luxury items,” he said.
So far, the committee has raised $780,000.
Fletcher said many people have come forward with fundraisers, and it doesn’t matter how small the event is.
“I saw a little lemonade stand with some young ladies who were selling lemonade and said they were going to give to the disaster relief fund,” he said. “No matter how big or how small, everybody counts.”
The disaster relief committee is still working on fundraising ideas to hit their target like a golf tournament and Loonie days.
“That is a lot of money to raise. We raise what we can and we do the best we can,” he said.
“Whatever we’re doing will help those people in severe need.”
The deadline to register with the Safe Homes program is also approaching. Aug. 10 is the last day to sign up for help with clean-up and damage assessment.
Program coordinator Mari-Lou Jorgenson said although the need is slowing down, there are still people that haven’t heard about the program.
“What we’re finding now is we’re reaching out to homeowners that have already done work themselves and they’re finding it’s been inadequate,” she said. “They have either done the drying, the cleaning themselves but didn’t have the industrial equipment that they needed so now we’re going back, sending out our inspectors, doing the work and making sure their home is clean and safe.”
If anyone has registered with the Safe Homes program but hasn’t been contacted yet, they should call 684-2685.
