Storm Damage

Please publish kudos for Baltimore Gas and Electric officials. As a resident of Howard County still without power as of July 5 at 4:25 p.m., I was so thrilled to see my first BGE vehicle and representative in my neighborhood since the outage last Friday night. Imagine the comfort I took when I learned that the individual was a natural gas meter reader. Even though there is a downed, live wire in the neighborhood protected by two strands of yellow caution tape, BGE is out collecting natural gas billing data on customers that have natural gas but not electricity.

U.S. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin publicly challenged on Wednesday a federal decision not to provide aid to Maryland residents affected by Hurricane Sandy - calling on President Barack Obama and federal emergency officials to rethink the decision. "It's a sad day in Maryland," Mikulski said at a hearing on storm relief efforts before the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, holding up a copy of The Baltimore Sun reporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency's decision Tuesday to deny Maryland families aid. The areas hit by the storm are some of the most "cash poor" in the state, she said - and people can't recover on their own. "We understand the collective damage issue," Cardin said, noting the many fronts of storm damage FEMA is handling.

Hurricane season may still be months away, but the threat of flooding is already on the rise in Maryland, as documented by the latest reports on climate change released this week. Rising sea levels have raised the risk of coastal flooding, particularly from severe storms. Analyzing both the latest forecasts of rising high tides caused by warming oceans and the latest population data from the 2010 census, one of several studies released this week, "Surging Seas" by scientists associated with the nonprofit Climate Central environmental research organization, found 3.7 million Americans living near the water will be at risk in the coming decades.

Superstorm Sandy has left the small town of Crisfield reeling from floods that destroyed homes and power outages that persist three weeks after the deluge. But the storm hasn't dampened the community spirit in this Eastern Shore enclave. Scores of residents expect to come together on Thanksgiving for a community dinner at the Elks Lodge, which is serving turkey and all the traditional side dishes — the majority of the meal donated. In preparation, a sign on Highway 413 reads: "Come one, come all. Dinner at 3 p.m. " "We are opening the doors to everybody and will do the best we can to serve them," said John Mackenzie, who calls himself the lodge's "official poobah.

Suffered storm damage on your property? Here are some things you should do: • Contact your insurance company immediately. • Take photos or video. Wait to remove damaged property until after an insurance adjuster sees it. • If you must relocate, make sure your insurance company knows how to reach you. • Keep receipts from emergency repairs and temporary living expenses. • Make only repairs needed to prevent further damage. Do not make permanent repairs before consulting with your insurance company to avoid expenses that will not be reimbursed.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg faces the nation, and we see the devastation to New York City and Long Island through his words. Gov. Chris Christie flies over the ravaged New Jersey coast and sees what horrific damage and destruction has been wreaked by the terrible storm. And then - wait a minute! Not to be outdone by his northern neighbors, our own Gov. Martin O'Malley boards a helicopter so that he can observe what cataclysm has befallen Crisfield. Crisfield! And did my eyes deceive me or was that his adolescent son also getting ready to board?

After a day that brought double-digit rainfalls to parts of Maryland, commuters faced damaged roads, homeowners coped with flooded basements and businesses surveyed storm damage. In Annapolis, water had receded in the city dock area, but several businesses remained closed today to mop up. Pip's, a popular lunch spot, was among them. Owner Ryan Lamy said his shop had two feet of water in the front and, due to the incline in the tile floor, six inches in back. "We've got to clean the floor and wipe the walls down," he said in mid-morning.

CUMBERLAND -- More than 5,000 customers in Allegany and Garrett counties remained without power yesterday as a result of a severe storm that came through Western Maryland Tuesday night, a spokesman for Potomac Edison said.The storm, with winds measured up to 75 mph, knocked down power lines, trees and caused damage to numerous businesses and homes in the area.After the storm, about 10,000 customers were without power, said John Hollis, Potomac Edison spokesman. He said power was restored to about half of those customers yesterday, with most of the remainder to be back on line today.

After inspecting the most recent storm damage at Hawk Ridge Farms, Sykesville Town Manager James L. Schumacher told the developer that repair work must begin at 8 a.m. today.Mr. Schumacher issued the ultimatum yesterday in response to several residents' complaints of damage from Monday's rain. He toured the site and met with Jeff Powers, vice president of Powers Homes, which plans to build several hundred homes at Hawk Ridge.On July 12, Sykesville gave Powers Homes two weeks to solve persistent grading problems at the development north of town or face forfeiture of the bond posted as part of a public works agreement.

Storm damage surveys continued late yesterday in the wake of Sunday's violent weather. But the count of tornadoes that raked parts of Maryland over the weekend remained at two. Storm damage reported in Towson, Lutherville and Hunt Valley fell far short of the criteria for tornadoes after a survey by Christopher Strong, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Baltimore-Washington Forecast Office in Sterling, Va. "We saw...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg faces the nation, and we see the devastation to New York City and Long Island through his words. Gov. Chris Christie flies over the ravaged New Jersey coast and sees what horrific damage and destruction has been wreaked by the terrible storm. And then - wait a minute! Not to be outdone by his northern neighbors, our own Gov. Martin O'Malley boards a helicopter so that he can observe what cataclysm has befallen Crisfield. Crisfield! And did my eyes deceive me or was that his adolescent son also getting ready to board?

As Hurricane Sandy bears down upon us and we know that there will be power outages, we will be tempted to bash Baltimore Gas and Electric when our service goes out, especially if for a longer period. We will accuse them once again of being non-responsive, as we always do, and while such power outages are not welcome events, they are caused by powers beyond our control and not by BGE's unresponsiveness and we should try to remember that. I drove back to Harford County from Raleigh, N.C. on the morning of Oct. 28, and I passed at least 15 to 20 caravans of utility support trucks of 8 to 14 vehicles each, counting well over 100 trucks, on their way to help BGE and other nearby utilities repair the storm damage that we expect.

Watersedge resident Jean Parker was dealing with a backyard and basement full of water Tuesday afternoon after Storm Sandy - but the Baltimore County resident was still counting her blessings. Her home has fared far worse in past storms, said Parker, who has lived there since 1959. "It's nothing compared to Isabel" in 2003, Parker said. "And we didn't lose electricity. … We're really blessed with that. " Parker got a surprise visit from U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger and County Councilman John Olszewski Sr., who were touring eastern Baltimore County neighborhoods to assess storm damage in an area that is prone to flooding.

The National Weather Service's 2 p.m. update shows Hurricane Sandy producing tropical storm-force winds in the Atlantic as it nears Carolinas. The storm is still about 300 miles off the coast of Charleston, S.C., with tropical storm conditions expected to reach the Carolinas this afternoon. The system is forecasted to move parallel with the U.S. coast through the weekend. A storm surge between four and eight feet is possible from Ocean City to the Connecticut border with Rhode Island.

Take inventory of disaster supplies. •Stock a three-day supply of water, or one gallon per person per day. •Store at least a three-day supply of food, including non-perishable items and food that is easy to prepare. •Locate flashlights and extra batteries. •Have a first-aid kit on hand. •Check medication supply and gather toiletries and medical items, including hearing aids and extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes and cane. •Gather multi-purpose tools, cell phones and chargers, emergency contact information, blankets, area maps, extra clothing and rain gear.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to force Maryland utilities to harden their systems against the kind of damage we saw in the summer's derecho storm raised immediate concerns among consumer advocates. The reason: It could add a dollar or two a month to residential customers' bills to compensate utilities for trimming trees, burying power lines and other activities that advocates say companies like Baltimore Gas & Electric and Pepco ought to be doing anyway. The criticism is particularly pointed in the case of Pepco, which was fined $1 million last year by the Public Service Commission for failing to invest sufficiently in that kind of grid maintenance.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to force Maryland utilities to harden their systems against the kind of damage we saw in the summer's derecho storm raised immediate concerns among consumer advocates. The reason: It could add a dollar or two a month to residential customers' bills to compensate utilities for trimming trees, burying power lines and other activities that advocates say companies like Baltimore Gas & Electric and Pepco ought to be doing anyway. The criticism is particularly pointed in the case of Pepco, which was fined $1 million last year by the Public Service Commission for failing to invest sufficiently in that kind of grid maintenance.

Send sports notices a minimum of two weeks before the requested publication date to Patuxent Publishing/MS Sports Notices, Third floor, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; e-mail tworgo@patuxent.com . Include date, time, location, contact information and subsection. Competitive Charmers Lacrosse Club holds tryouts Sept. 25 for 2014 and 2015 girls teams. admin@charmerslax.org or http://www.charmerslax.org. Greene Turtle Field Hockey Club offers tryouts for girls ages U12-U19.

Send sports notices a minimum of two weeks before the requested publication date to Patuxent Publishing/TT Sports Notices, Third floor, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278; e-mail tworgo@tribune.com . Include date, time, location, contact information and subsection. Competitive Cockeysville Rec offers fall session of aerobics . http://www.cockeysvillerec.org or 410-667-4630. Charmers Lacrosse Club holds tryouts Sept. 25 for 2014 and 2015 girls teams.