OCEAN CITY – City Council approved a series of resolutions aimed at improving the city’s standing in the Community Rating System (CRS), a federal program that means discounts on flood insurance rates.
Ocean City currently has a Class 5 rating, which means a 25-percent discount for property owners insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), operated under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
According to Ocean City spokesman Doug Bergen, the recent resolutions and other steps are aimed at bringing Ocean City to Class 3, which would bring the discount to 35 percent.
For now, only Sea Isle City has achieved a class 3 in New Jersey. There are a few towns across the country with a Class 2 rating, according to information posted on the program by FEMA. Only one town, Roseville, Calif., is at Class 1.
Even at the current rating, the city’s participation has saved local ratepayers. City officials estimate the total savings in flood insurance costs in the millions of dollars. There are more than 17,000 flood insurance policies in the city.
The city is gearing up for a review under the CRS. Four resolutions approved by City Council Oct. 11 will help the city improve its rating, according to Bergen.
They include the adoption of a floodplain management plan, an analysis of repetitive loss areas, a watershed management plan and a program for public information.
The city has used automatic call lists and other systems to keep residents and visitors informed about potential flooding for some time. According to the adopted resolution, the city has formed a Program for Public Information Committee expressly to meet the goals of the CRS.
The committee plans to reach out to residents, businesses and community organizations, as well as being present at events such as the popular fall and spring block parties, to raise information about flood hazards.
“All of Ocean City, N.J. is within a floodplain, therefore everywhere on the island will flood at some point,” reads part of the background information on Public Information Committee. “The city is continually working to improve flood protection on the island. These efforts can’t completely eliminate the chance of flooding, but will reduce the frequency and the severity when it does occur.”
The Floodplain Management Plan, also adopted by resolution, aims to reduce the impact of flooding throughout the city, as well as to improve Ocean City’s community rating.
According to the documentation accompanying the Floodplain Management Plan resolution, Ocean City pays the most in flood insurance of all of the communities in New Jersey.
“The importance of the Community Rating System (CRS) to the citizens of Ocean City lies in several areas including flood safety, hazard mitigation and financial impacts,” states the plan. The document also includes extensive information on flooding, including a rundown of the worst floods the city has seen.
Hurricane Sandy tops that list, bringing flooding at more than 10-feet above mean low water Oct. 29, 2012. The hurricane of 1944, which took place before hurricanes were named, is next on the list, followed by the devastating March 1962 nor’easter, a three-day storm that battered the coast and was the storm against which all other storms were measured for a generation.
Of the 17 listed events that range from major to moderate flooding, 12 took place in the 21st century, 10 since Sandy.
The report states that property owners in Ocean City pay more than $11 million in flood insurance rates a year, putting the savings of the current CRS discount at $2.8 million annually.
Also in the report, an initial analysis stated there were 318 severe repetitive loss properties in the city, meaning a property that has seen four or more flood claim payments of at least $5,000. After mitigation efforts, the report states, there are now 89 repetitive loss properties on the island, including 65 listed as severe repetitive loss properties, mostly in the lowest elevation areas along the back bays.
The report also lists the cost of storm damage. In that evaluation, Sandy comes out on top again, dishing out an estimated $22.4 million in damage in Ocean City alone.
Council unanimously approved the resolutions without discussion, as part of the routine resolutions approved in a single vote.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
