Many Frederick homes and businesses sustained significant damage from floodwaters.
FREDERICK, MD. (LG) Much of the Frederick area has already experienced heavy rain and flooding and now residents are in the clean-up mode.
“Flood coverage is not usually included in homeowners insurance,” said Joy Hatchette, spokeswoman with the Maryland Insurance Administration. “Flood coverage is generally a specific exclusion. In order to have coverage for this, the consumer would have to have had a separate flood insurance policy. Sometimes it’s issued by private insurance companies, but for the most part they are issued by the Federal Government, called the NFIP.” NFIP is the National Flood Insurance Program.
“Consumers who are considering purchasing a flood insurance policy from a private company must have the policy in effect for at least 30 days, in order to be reimbursed for damages, before an event occurs.”
Floods are the nation’s most common and costly natural disaster and cause millions of dollars in damage every year. “There are a few private insurance companies that are beginning to offer flood coverage.”
According to officials in the Frederick , emergency responders went out to 110 calls related to flooding, 31 of which were water rescues. Responders removed 75 people from vehicles trapped in floodwater, and 21 county roads were closed due to flooding. Many homes and businesses were inundated with flood waters.
Hurricane season begins June 1. AccuWeather forecasters, meanwhile, are predicting a near normal to slightly above-normal year with between 12 to 15 tropical storms. Of those storms, 6 to 8 are forecast to become hurricanes and 3 to 5 are forecast to become major hurricanes.
Researchers caution that the prediction is only intended to be a best estimate of hurricane activity during the upcoming season — not an exact measure. This is the 35th year that the CSU hurricane research team has issued the Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecast.
-Loretta Gaines