April Showers Can Cause Water Damage

April showers bring May flowers, but they can also bring rainstorms that can cause flood damage to your property! Be sure to take the proper steps to protect your property. Check out FEMA’s “How to Prepare for a Flood,” which includes flood basics, info on emergency notifications and how to protect yourself before, during and…

Pittsville Enters the National Flood Program as a Participating Community

Welcome all Pittsville Maryland Residents and Business Owners to the National Flood Insurance Program! Click to learn your Flood Risk – Now! Pittsville was one of the last few communities in Wicomico County to join the flood program. Homeowners and businesses in Pittsville will now be able to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood…

NFIP Lapse Update

UPDATE as of Tuesday, 1/23/18: Late yesterday, the House and Senate voted to approve government funding through February 8th, 2018. President Trump signed the deal soon after, ending the government shutdown and restoring FEMA’s operation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). From now until February 8th, Congress will continue working on a longer-term budget…

Power is Out – How do you stay warm?

If you are lucky, you have a backup generator, warm fireplace, candles and hand-cranked flashlights that can charge your cell phone. If not, what do you do? FEMA suggests the following: Be ready with these power outage preparedness tips from The Ready Campaign: Build or restock your emergency preparedness kit. Include a flashlight, batteries, water,…

National Flood Insurance Program authorized through January 19th

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was authorized for a five year period that ended on September 30th. Since then there has been three short-term extensions. Currently the program expires on January 19th. Check out the news article from Insurance Business Magazine that reviews the importance of a long term authorization of the National Flood…

Restoring Your Business After a Flood

Floods can be miserable ordeals, even with extensive preparation. They can spring up with little to no warning and saddle you with the responsibility of a lengthy, expensive restoration period. Your business could be underwater in a flash, and you could be faced with mounting repair bills and extended interruption to your business. But floods…

National Flood Insurance Program Extended till December

The National Flood Insurance Program (NIFP) was set to expire on September 30, 2017. The federal government has extended the NFIP until December 8, 2017. NFIP program is vital to coastal areas, and having the program's existence up in the air creates uncertainty for those buying or selling coastal properties or any property located within…

Town of Ocean City Improves the Community Rating System

The Town of Ocean City announced that through efforts of Terry McGean and staff the Community Rating for Ocean City has improved. This rating generates discounts to flood policies that are in the Special Flood Hazard Zones (A or V). The National Flood Insurance Program took an increase of 6.9% in April of 2017. The…

Hurricane Safety Tips

Ocean City, Maryland officially recognized the week of May 7-13, 2017 as National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Here's a short video with the National Weather Service's basic hurricane preparedness tips: http://www.weather.gov/media/wrn/MP4/2017HurricanePrepWeekThemeSummary.mp4 Here are some additional resources you can reference to increase your family's safety: National Weather Service (weather.gov) Hurricane Preparedness Page Ready.Gov Family Emergency Communication Plan…

Pathway to Violence – Warning Signs and What You Can Do

On March 22, 2017 the Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association hosted a Terrorism Awareness Session for businesses in Ocean City and Surrounding Areas. James M. Schwartz who is a Task Force Officer in the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI presented information to many local businesses on what to look out for and…