Family faces long road to recovery after home damaged in atmospheric river

Marc LaTorre’s West Vancouver home was heavily damaged in the atmospheric weather event that hit the area Oct. 25. His property saw around 15 feet of creek water surging into the basement, leaving the home uninhabitable.

The owner soon learned insurance would only cover a fraction of the damage, and he would have to pay out of pocket to repair it.

Now B.C. has announced it will provide Disaster Financial Assistance of up to $400,000 to eligible property owners in Coquitlam, the North Shore, and Squamish, as well as offering relief for some small businesses.

“We’ve got information from local government that the provinces needed, with the DFA, the Disaster Financial Assistance, [for the government] to step in,” said Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Kelly Greene.

LaTorre bought the house only seven months ago and says he and his wife put their life savings into the purchase, hoping to provide a better life for their family.

He says he is grateful the province is stepping up.

“It will probably be years until we can live in the house and it’s a large mortgage,” he said.

“Nothing like paying for a mortgage in a house you can’t live in.”

Regardless of the funds provided by the province, LaTorre is worried about future flooding and wants the city to fix the drainage system the creek flows into.

“If the city would just culvert the section of creek, that would save our property, this won’t happen again,” he said.

The deadline to apply for the provincial disaster financial assistance is Feb. 23, 2025.

“People with impacted properties should reach out to their local MLA,” Greene said.