Maryland Provides Grant Funding to Communities at Risk for Hazards

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has recently provided over $5 million in federal grants to local jurisdictions and qualified organizations throughout Maryland that are at risk for impacts of or have been adversely affected by natural disasters. These grants, which originate from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), fund specific projects that have been identified by communities as important to saving lives and protecting property.

Through this mitigation grant program, MEMA is working with local jurisdictions to acquire and demolish structures that are not safe from natural hazards, turning the land into protected open space. Maryland and Prince George’s County will be acquiring and demolishing seven properties in Fort Washington that experienced slope failure in March 2014. MEMA will also be working with Allegany County to acquire a six-property mobile home camp in Frostburg and with Calvert County on a single structure in Broomes Island. Property owners who experienced a loss will be reimbursed using these funds.

Some natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, have had both widespread impacts throughout the State of Maryland and localized, direct effects on many communities. “Government agencies and voluntary organizations are proficient at disaster response and recovery,” said MEMA Executive Director Ken Mallette, “but another piece of our responsibility to the residents of Maryland is to consistently prepare for and mitigate against future emergencies. These projects will help accomplish that.”

In addition, these mitigation grants will fund emergency alert and warning projects, such as an update to the existing flood warning system in Howard County, the purchase and installation of a two-way emergency alert system for Frederick County facilities, and a variable message sign for Garrett County. Other projects include purchasing and installing emergency power generators for critical facilities, such as the University of Maryland’s Charles County Medical Center, which will be installing three emergency generators to ensure that electricity is available to the hospital if commercial power fails.

MEMA actively conducts risk reduction planning and participates in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs, which are designed to provide funding and other resources to protect life and property from natural disasters and promote community recovery following incidents.