Disaster Recovery Program - FAQ

A: The Government of Alberta, through the Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), assists municipalities affected by disaster:
• By working with municipalities to help residents and business operators work with their insurance companies;
• By providing the services of an insurance consultant to assist if needed;
• By helping municipalities to coordinate efforts of charitable organizations that are prepared to assist;
• By developing disaster recovery programs to help municipalities after a disaster; and
• By accessing federal and other provincial resources.

Q: What is a disaster recovery program?

A: Disaster Recovery Program is a provincewide financial assistance program that helps residents, small businesses and agricultural operations return uninsurable property loss to pre-disaster condition. Municipalities can also receive assistance for infrastructure damage, emergency operations and clean-up costs.

Q: What types of things do disaster recovery programs cover?

A: Disaster recovery programs can provide municipalities with assistance for things such as evacuation costs, clean-up, emergency accommodations and other extraordinary costs associated with responding to a disaster. Disaster recovery programs are designed to assist with essential needs for losses and damage to homes, farms and small businesses only where insurance is not available.

Q: What types of things are not covered under a disaster recovery program?

A: Disaster recovery programs do not provide assistance for damage to homes and small businesses that can be insured against. For example, fire insurance is readily and reasonably available in Alberta.

Q: Why are insurable losses not covered by disaster recovery programs?

A: The Government of Alberta does not provide assistance for insurable losses. This is the role of the insurance industry. Alberta's guidelines are consistent with the federal guidelines in this respect. Emergency preparation is an individual responsibility and citizens should take steps to protect their assets where insurance is available.

Q: Are all provinces the same when it comes to emergency assistance?

A: No. Each province is responsible for its own emergency management legislation and compensation may vary between provinces.

Q: Who should citizens call with questions or concerns about a disaster event or a disaster recovery program?

A: Citizens should contact their local Director of Emergency Management who should be listed in the municipal phone book. Also, some municipalities may establish an emergency contact line during a disaster. If you have a question about your application, contact the DRP office at 1-888-671-1111.

Q: Why does it take longer to complete applications for small business and agriculture?

A: These applications are more complex than most residential applications. For example, these applications can involve multiple insurance companies. They also require tax information and receipts for completed work. In addition, we know that applicants may be busy due to demands placed on them from their businesses, which can affect the provision of required information and the scheduling of evaluations.

Q: Is DRP funding for residential, small business, agriculture and infrastructure applications distributed equally?

A: The funds for DRP applications are distributed based on need and the type of disaster. If a disaster impacts an agricultural area for example, you would see significantly higher agriculture applications and more program costs in that area.

Traditionally, the largest amount of funding goes toward repairing municipal and provincial infrastructure and this can potentially make up more than half of the total program costs. For example, a community bridge or roadway can cost tens of millions of dollars to repair.

Other expenses that can impact a program are those for reimbursing the municipality, such as initial emergency response and hotel accommodations for displaced residents; administration and contingency costs.

Q: In what order are DRP applications processed?

A: Disasters can happen in just minutes, but it can take a long time to recover. That’s why residential applications are the first priority for processing – to help residents get their lives back to normal as quickly as possible after a disaster. While residential applications are the first priority, they do not typically make up the largest percentage or dollar amount of a disaster recovery program. Once the majority of residential applications have received full or partial payment, the focus shifts to small business and agriculture applications.

Applications for small business and agriculture are more complex than most residential applications. For example, these applications can involve multiple insurance companies and multiple locations. They also require tax information and receipts for completed work. In addition, we know that applicants may be busy due to demands placed on them from their businesses, which can affect how quickly they are able to provide the required information and the scheduling of evaluations. We are flexible on our approach and will work with small business and agricultural applicants to ensure they get the maximum allowable under program guidelines.

Q: How do you determine the amount allocated to a Disaster Recovery Program?

A: The amount is based on the first estimate of damages. The actual cost of the program may be higher or lower from the initial estimates. When an initial estimate is submitted by the applying municipality, every attempt is made to make sure there is enough money in the program to deliver on all the potential needed repairs. Every penny in the program is accounted for by provincial and federal auditors and if there is money that isn’t used it is returned to general revenues.

Q: How much of the total program costs will be spent on administration expenses?

A: Every attempt is made to keep administrative costs at a minimum, but administration is essential to deliver a program that is responsive to the urgent needs of applicants. These costs include things like training, staff, evaluators, office and equipment rentals, advertising, registration centres, and the DRP office.

Generally, administration costs run about 12 to 15 per cent of the total program costs but the numbers can vary greatly. For instance, programs with a large infrastructure component do not require as much administrative work to process and would typically come under the average amount.

Q: Do administrative costs affect the amount of assistance applicants receive?

A: No, administrative costs have no affect the amount of assistance that goes to individual residents, small business owners, farmers or municipalities. In every disaster recovery program, our first goal is to ensure that all applicants receive their maximum eligibility for uninsured and essential losses under the program guidelines.

Q: Is it true that it can take up to five years to complete a disaster recovery program?

A: Yes, the vast majority of applications are completed in a much shorter period of time; however there could be some applications that take longer. The goal is to ensure that all applicants receive the maximum benefit they are eligible for under the program.

• A small number of business and agriculture applications could take one or two years to complete, depending on the type and level of damages experienced. This is because it may take longer for applicants to do the repairs and submit their receipts. If repairs are required that impact waterways, then there may be regulatory limitations on when the work can be completed.

• Municipal infrastructure applications could take up to five years to be complete. A number of factors are involved here, like what a municipality’s priorities are, the availability of contractors, and things like access to waterways. Municipalities won’t receive final funds until all the work is completed, it is inspected and signed off by a program engineer and the documentation is provided.

For more information on Disaster Recovery Programs, please call toll free 1-888-671-1111.

Pursuant to Part II of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act, personal information collected from applicants in support of their application will be managed in accordance with the privacy provisions in the FOIP Act.  Occasionally, staff administering the program receives requests for information about the program, applicants or successful recipients.  Under Part II of the FOIP Act, disclosure of the name of a successful and eligible applicant and the total amount paid to them under the program would not be considered an unreasonable invasion of that individual's personal privacy.  The information would reveal details of a discretionary benefit of a financial nature granted to an individual by Alberta Municipal Affairs.  A detailed breakdown of the assistance would not be provided.