Claims (July 01, 2010)

MODERATE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS OTTAWA-QUEBEC BORDER AREA

A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck the Ontario-Quebec border area, 60 kilometers north of Ottawa, at 1:42 p.m. on June 23, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Within minutes of the shaking, Twitter users reported they had felt the tremors in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Kitchener. Reports of tremors extended into U.S. cities including Chicago, Cleveland, Rochester, Vermont and New York City.

Natural Resources Canada confirmed the earthquake on its Web site: “June 23, 1:45 pm Eastern Time — A moderate earthquake has occurred in the Ottawa-Montreal region.”

USGS reported earthquakes in this zone are typically small.

As of press time, the Insurance Bureau of Canada had received no reports of damage, although it was too early for the numbers to be calculated.

FLOODING IN ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN SHUTS DOWN HIGHWAY

States of emergency were declared following heavy rains that led to floods in Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes and causing a sinkhole on the Trans- Canada Highway.

As much as 150 millimetres of rain fell in several regions of the Prairies over the weekend of June 19, extending into the early week, ctv.ca reported. The system moved further into Alberta, flooding areas around Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.

On the morning of June 20, about five kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway at the Alberta-Saskatchewan border were closed due to flooding. A culvert along the stretch of high- way collapsed, causing a giant sinkhole just outside of Maple Creek, Sask., reported cbc.ca.

Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner said that because the floods were not the type in which the water rises slowly, but rather flash floods, sandbagging efforts would do little to nothing to protect properties.

F1 TORNADO IN LEAMINGTON, ONTARIO CAUSES $85 MILLION IN DAMAGES

A June tornado in Leamington, Ontario generated 4,750 home, commercial and auto claims totalling an estimated $85 million, a preliminary report finds.

The majority of the claims were for homes, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says, based on data from PCS Canada.

The F1 tornado touched down in Essex County, along the shore of Lake Erie, southwest of Leamington around 3 a.m. on June 6.