IBC urges Manitoba policyholders to check policies after first 2008 tornado

Canada’s home, car and business insurers are reminding Manitoba’s homeowners to review their insurance policies after Environment Canada received reports of a tornado touching down in the province earlier this week, and fires are affecting northern Manitoba.Manitoba’s first tornado of the season touched down on May 25, 2008. No one was injured and no damage was reported after the tornado touched down in southeastern Manitoba, CBC reported online after the event.The May 2008 tornado occurred a little less than a year after an F5 tornado hit Elie, Manitoba, in June 2007. The Elie tornado was the first documented F5 intensity tornado in Canada. F5 is the highest rating on the Fujita tornado damage scale. Environment Canada estimated the wind speeds of the Elie tornado reached between 420 km-h and 510 km-h when the tornado was at its most intense.The May 2008 tornado “could well be the first in a series to hit Manitoba this summer,” the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) noted in a press release.”Summer storms, which include tornadoes, heavy rain and hail have been getting more frequent and severe in Manitoba. The dry and hot weather conditions are also conducive to fires.” Last year, insurers paid around Cdn$64 million in claims due to Manitoba’s summer storms.