PHILADELPHIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) continue to support recovery in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland. One year ago, a severe storm resulted in extensive flooding in Ellicott City and Howard County, resulting in loss of life and damage to homes, businesses, and property. Following this disaster, local non-profit groups, volunteers and voluntary organizations, Howard County, MEMA, the State of Maryland, FEMA Region III, and other partners worked together to help Ellicott City begin its recovery to and to become a model of resilience and strength.
A key aspect of long term recovery is community input: from the beginning MEMA and FEMA have been working closely with Howard County and Ellicott City to determine the best path forward for recovery. In addition to supporting long term recovery initiatives, FEMA has provided more than $5 million in Public Assistance grant funding to help with rebuilding efforts. “Long term recovery is an investment in a community’s future,” stated FEMA Region III Regional Administrator MaryAnn Tierney. “FEMA is one partner in that effort and we continue to support the community, county, and state with their recovery.” A recent FEMA-hosted training on the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) highlighted the continuing recovery and the progress shown by the community and partners in Maryland, emphasizing the importance of each partnership in the collaborative effort.
MEMA and other state agencies continue to work with their partners to ensure the recovery of the community and the county as well. “Anyone who saw the video of the cars being swept down Main Street in Ellicott City knows just how powerful those flood waters were,” said MEMA Executive Director Russell Strickland. “Recovery efforts this last year are a tribute to the community and the state, local, federal, and non-governmental partners that supported them, but there is still more work to be done."
To learn more about Ellicott City’s recovery, please visit https://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments/Ellicott-City-Flood-Recovery. For more information on FEMA’s assistance and the disaster declaration, please visit www.FEMA.gov and https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4279. For more information on MEMA’s role and responsibilities, please visit http://mema.maryland.gov.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.
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