NEWS INFORMATION FROM |
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THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED |
FOR IMMEDIATE USE |
HARRISBURG RECEIVES TOP RATING IN STATE FOR REDUCING FLOOD RISKS; FLOOD INSURANCE PREMIUMS REDUCED BY 20% FOR CITIZENS, BUSINESSESCitizens and businesses who own property in the City of Harrisburg can now receive a 20% reduction in flood insurance premium costs as a result of the fourth -- and latest – upgrade in the city’s rating under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance program. Gene Gruber, director of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Division for FEMA Region III, today presented Mayor Stephen R. Reed with the federal award plaque that recognizes the city’s emergency management floodplain management activities. “Harrisburg is to be commended for its flood response activities and plans,” Gruber. “Very few communities in the Nation have earned as high a rating as has Harrisburg. These efforts help to save lives and property, and enable a rapid return to normalcy following what are inevitable flooding events.” The City of Harrisburg has the highest community rating in Pennsylvania. Listed as a Class 6 municipality, there are only 72 communities nationwide with an equal or better rating. Harrisburg had a Class 7 rating for 10 years, which provided a 15% premium cost reduction. The FEMA Community Rating System is a voluntary program with aim of reducing flood damage, the instances of flooding, and measures the capacity of a municipality to respond to a flood emergency. The Class 6 rating places Harrisburg in the top 7% of participating communities across the country. Sixteen categories of flood preparedness and public education are evaluated as part of the Community Rating process, including such areas a emergency management, flood mapping, hazard disclosure, building codes, stormwater management and open space preservation. Flood insurance is federally subsidized. Flood damage is not covered by regular homeowner or business property insurance and an additional flood insurance policy needs to be purchased to provide flood damage coverage. The more successful a municipality becomes in emergency management, floodplain management and the other rating categories, the flood insurance premium is reduced. Reed said: “It is necessary to be prepared for a wide range of man-made and natural disasters, especially in this post 9-11 period. The one event for which we have a 100% certainty of occurring in the future is a flood. This is why we are engaged in the various flood-related mitigation and response functions and also why we urge property owners who may be at risk to have flood insurance in place. We have now made the insurance more affordable.” |
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