Floodplain Management

Individual Property Information and Elevation Certificates

Activity 320 – Mapping Information:

The City of Cape May and representatives from the Floodplain Management Office: Louis Belasco provide information regarding flood map inquiries, including but not limited to information on: flood depths, BFE, LIMWA, FIRM, SFHA, V zone, historic flooding, mean high water, sea level rise, projected sea level rise, category 1 hurricane storm surge, projected special flood hazard area in 2050 and marsh migration. For additional information, please contact Paul Dietrich at pdietrich@capemaycity.com, (609) 435-2642.

Activity 360 – Flood Protection Assistance:

The City of Cape May is a participant of the FMA (Flood Mitigation Assistance) program and has submitted an LOI (Letter of Intent) to participate in the program with the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management.

Additionally, the City of Cape May provides information on flood proofing, grant funding sources for home elevations and flood proofing, ICC (Increase Cost of Compliance) and flood insurance – for additional information including sample policy forms for download, please scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page.

Activity 370 - Flood Insurance Promotion

The City of cape May helps promote residents and property owners purchase flood insurance to protect their homes. We host an annual meeting about flood insurance. This years meeting is on Thursday, November 4th at 4:00pm at Cape May City Hall, 634 Washington Street. We also have partnered with several local insurance companies through the NJ Coastal Coalition to provide technical assistance with understanding your flood insurance policy and how your premiums are calculated. You can contact Heist Insurance (http://www.heistinsurance.com/) at 609-399-0655 or Brown & Brown Insurance (http://www.bbinj.com/) at 609-390-3360 or McMahon Insurance (https://mcmahonagency.com/) at 609-399-0060 or Flood Reduction Plus (https://yourfloodrisk.com/) at 866-599-7066. Have your Elevation Certificate and your Insurance Policy with you when you call. Any other insurance companies that want to assist our community in this outreach efforts please contact NJ Coastal Coalition at acmcoastalcoalition@gmail.com.

Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage caused by flooding.

Only flood insurance policies cover physical damage to your property and possessions caused by flooding. This damage is not covered under homeowners insurance. NFIP offers up to $250,000 in flood insurance coverage for building property (your home) and up to $100,000 for personal contents (your belongings). Although these coverages fall under one policy, the coverages may be purchased separately so that renters can obtain only personal contents coverage if desired. If you are a homeowner wishing to protect your home and belongings, be sure to request both coverages.

For specific information about what is covered and not covered, visit the National Flood Insurance Program Summary of Coverage.

The risk is real.

It doesn’t take a major body of water or a significant storm to cause flooding. A flood can occur because of a slow-moving rainstorm, snowmelt, land development runoff, and more. High-risk areas have a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. While moderate-to-low risk areas have a reduced risk of flooding, these areas are responsible for nearly 25% of flood insurance claims.

According to FloodSmart.gov, just one inch of water in a 1,000-square-foot home can cause over $10,000 in damage. That cost grows with the severity of the flood:

Estimated Cost of Flooding
in a 1,000-Square-Foot Home
Four-foot flood	$39,950
One-foot flood	$27,150
Six-inch flood	$20,150
One-inch flood	$10,600

When available, federal disaster assistance can cost more than a flood insurance policy.

Federal disaster assistance is not insurance. It is only available when a disaster is federally declared, and usually comes in the form of a loan with interest. A flood insurance policy is often the less expensive option.

The best time to buy flood insurance in New Jersey is now.

There is typically a 30-day waiting period before a policy takes effect after purchase.

Links

FEMA Flood Map Service Center - Find your base Flood Elevation

www.fema.gov/plan-prepare-mitigate

www.floodsmart.gov

Local Rain Gauges & Weather Data

NJ Coastal Coalition

Flood Hazard & Evacuation Maps

Coastal Evacuation Route Map

Cape May County Emergency Shelter Locations

Cape May County Tidal Flooding Awareness