Helping people, communities affected by flooding

Press Release

Jan. 14, 2026

VICTORIA

Summary

Disaster Financial Assistance is now available for eligible people, businesses and communities affected by flooding from Dec. 10-19, 2025, in southwestern B.C.
The deadline to apply is April 13, 2026
An online DFA application portal is available to private- and public-sector applicants, making applications quicker, easier

Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) is now available for eligible people, businesses and communities in the southwestern British Columbia affected by flooding from the heavy rainfall Dec. 10-19, 2025.

Eligible communities

This assistance applies to flood-affected people, businesses and communities within the geographic boundaries of the following areas:

City of Abbotsford
Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Electoral Areas
Capital Regional District Electoral Areas
City of Chilliwack
Fraser Valley Regional District
District of Hope
Village of Pemberton
City of Port Coquitlam
Town of Port McNeill
Chawathil First Nation
Leqʼá:mel First Nation
Matsqui First Nation
Semá:th First Nation
Stsailes First Nation
Tsartlip First Nation

What Disaster Financial Assistance can cover

For renters and owners, insurance is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family in the event of a disaster. In situations where insurance was not available, DFA may compensate for sudden, unexpected and uninsurable essential losses. This may include building repairs to a damaged principal residence, clean up and debris removal, and replacement of essential personal effects. DFA is unable to compensate for losses for which insurance was reasonably and readily available.

Applying for DFA

DFA is available to homeowners, renters, business owners, farmers, corporation-owned properties, charitable organizations and communities to cover uninsurable disaster-related losses.
Applications for this DFA event must be submitted to the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness within 90 calendar days of the event authorization. The deadline to submit applications is April 13, 2026.
An online DFA application portal for private-sector applicants was launched in 2024. The portal is now available to public-sector applicants, making it quicker and easier for individuals, organizations, local governments and First Nations to apply for support for eligible, uninsurable disaster-related losses.

Local governments and First Nations

Local governments and First Nations that have infrastructure damage resulting from the December flooding should submit a local government DFA application as soon as possible.

Learn More:

For information about eligibility, categories and applications from people and organizations, call (toll-free) 1-888-257-4777
or visit: https://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance
Local government information is available here:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/local-emergency-programs/financial/communities-dfa
To submit a DFA application online, visit: https://dfa.gov.bc.ca/
To understand insurance coverage and the claims process, visit:
https://www.ibc.ca/stay-protected/severe-weather-centre/flooding-and-insurance

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:
Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
Media Relations
250-880-6430

BACKGROUNDER

Facts about Disaster Financial Assistance

Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) is intended to compensate for sudden, unexpected and uninsurable losses. Eligible costs may include building repairs, replacement of essential personal effects, eligible equipment and inventory, and clean up and debris removal.
DFA cannot cover losses where insurance was reasonably and readily available, and does not provide compensation for certain types of personal belongings. These include:
- damage to items located in basements, crawl spaces or similar low-lying storage areas, unless the basement, crawl space or storage area was being used as an essential living area
- outbuildings, detached or semi-detached garages or carports, or their contents
- recreational structures, such as hot tubs, patios, pools, fences or landscaping
- personal items, such as jewelry, collectibles, artwork, antiques, silverware, furs, decorative items, money and securities, or books and printed material
- recreational items, such as fishing, hunting or camping equipment, audio-visual, camera or dark-room equipment, skates, skis, bicycles, games, toys, garden tools or lawn furniture
Homeowners and residential tenants must show that the home is their principal residence. Seasonal or recreational properties are not eligible for assistance.
A claim may be made in more than one category (e.g., homeowner and farm owner).
Other ineligible items include insurance deductibles, non-essential recreational items, land lost due to erosion, landscaping and luxury goods.
Small business applicants must earn at least $10,000 per year in revenue from the business and have gross sales less than $2 million per year.
Farm owners must show the farm is owned and operated by a person whose full-time employment is farming and be the means by which the owner generates the majority of their income.
DFA is limited to restoring actual damage caused by a specific disaster that has been declared eligible for compensation.
For approved claims, financial assistance covers 80% of total eligible damage that exceeds $1,000, to a maximum payment of $400,000.
In recent years, the Province has strengthened and expanded the DFA program to better support people and communities. These changes included:
- increased maximum DFA support available per claim from $300,000 to $400,000
- expanded eligibility for small businesses based on minimum income
- raised annual revenue threshold for small businesses from $1 million to $2 million, so more businesses can qualify for DFA
- expanded eligibility for the farming sector to include homes owned by corporations when the home is used as a primary residence
- increased provincial contributions to local infrastructure recovery.
- The Province may provide a portion of a project’s estimated costs up front to help communities rebuild critical infrastructure projects quicker.