Calgary Hailstorm Caused $2.6 Billion in Damages, 2nd Costliest in Canada

Travellers manoeuvre around buckets catching leaks as repairs are underway at the Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alta., on Aug. 6, 2024. Parts of its domestic terminal building were closed due to damage caused by hail and heavy rainfall Aug. 5. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

The August hailstorm in Calgary caused nearly $2.8 billion in damages, with claims from tens of thousands after baseball-sized hail damaged buildings, shattered windshields, and grounded over a dozen WestJet flights.

The hailstorm that struck southern Alberta on Aug. 5 is now the second costliest disaster in Canadian history, following the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, which caused around $4 billion in insured damages, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), citing Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc.