Pocomoke City began in the late 1600s at a ferry landing on the south bank of the Pocomoke River, and the town still sits low, about 6.6 feet above sea level. Below town the river widens toward Pocomoke Sound and the Chesapeake Bay; above it, the dark, slow-moving water drains a long stretch of swamp and farmland reaching back into Delaware.
The Restoration Job is a no-cost referral line that hands callers off to independent restoration providers; it does not perform cleanup or repairs. Call (888) 317-9980 day or night and we'll connect you with a provider that serves Pocomoke City and southern Worcester County for a soaked crawl space, a leaking roof or a burst pipe.
How the call works: when you call (888) 317-9980, The Restoration Job connects you with an independent restoration provider that serves Pocomoke City. That provider inspects the damage, explains the scope and quotes the work. The Restoration Job doesn't perform restoration itself. Read our referral disclosure.
Living Beside the Pocomoke River
The Pocomoke runs roughly 66 miles from the Great Cypress Swamp in southern Sussex County, Delaware, past Snow Hill and Pocomoke City to the Maryland-Virginia line. Swamp-fed rivers rise slowly and stay high, and upstream near Willards the river's highest recorded crest came on August 20, 1989, with other high marks in September 2016, November 2009 and January 1998. Toward its mouth the river functions as an extension of the Chesapeake Bay, so the lower river is shaped by bay conditions as well as by rain upstream.
For property owners, low ground is the main concern. Riverfront lots, ground-level storage and crawl spaces on the lowest streets are the first to take water when heavy rain arrives on top of a high river. If water has entered a building from outside, flood cleanup should treat everything it touched as contaminated.
A River Town's Older Houses
The Pocomoke City Historic District covers about 220 acres along Market, Cedar, Second, Clarke and Bridge streets and Linden Avenue, and most of its houses were built between 1870 and 1940, when lumber milling, shipbuilding and barrel and basket factories supported the town. A 1922 fire destroyed the business district, which was quickly rebuilt.
Homes of that age usually have plaster walls, wood floors laid over crawl spaces, and plumbing and roofing that have been patched more than once. Hidden leaks in walls and under floors are common, and old cast-iron drain lines can crack and seep. A careful water damage repair job in these houses starts with moisture mapping to find how far the water went before anything is removed.
Coastal Storms and Winter Freezes
Worcester County has been hit hard by coastal storms, including the 1933 hurricane and the 1962 Ash Wednesday nor'easter, and the county was ordered to evacuate before Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. In town the usual damage from these storms is wind-driven rain through roofs and windows, fallen trees and heavy rainfall that saturates the ground for days.
Winter brings its own risk. Pocomoke City averages 5 to 10 inches of snow a year, and the Blizzard of 2018 dropped 10 to 15 inches with temperatures in the teens and gusts over 40 mph. Pipes in crawl spaces and on exterior walls can freeze and split in that kind of cold, and the leak often shows up only once things thaw.
What Cleanup Usually Involves
A provider called to a wet home or business in Pocomoke City will generally:
- Locate and stop the source, and confirm electrical safety in wet rooms.
- Pump out standing water and extract water from carpets and hard floors.
- Tear out soaked pad, insulation and wallboard that won't dry in place.
- Inspect the crawl space for standing water, wet joists and damaged vapor barrier.
- Dry the structure with dehumidifiers and air movers, checking readings until materials return to normal.
Take photos before cleanup starts and call your insurer early. Damage from a sudden plumbing failure is often covered by homeowners insurance, while rising water from outside generally needs a separate flood policy.
Humid Summers and Mold Under the Floor
The lower Eastern Shore's hot, humid summers make crawl spaces and closed-up rooms especially prone to mold after any leak or flood. Damp air from a wet crawl space rises into the house, so a musty smell in a bedroom can trace back to a problem below the floor. Drying promptly, repairing vapor barriers and keeping gutters and downspouts directing water away from the foundation help a great deal. When growth covers a wide area, a provider offering mold remediation can contain and remove it properly.
Where Callers in the Pocomoke City Area Are
Calls come in from across Pocomoke City, including:
- Pocomoke City Historic District
The same line also serves nearby communities such as:
Pocomoke City Water Damage Questions
Does the Pocomoke River flood Pocomoke City?
The river can rise after long periods of heavy rain, and its lower reach acts as an extension of the Chesapeake Bay. Upstream gauges show the highest water in events such as August 1989 and September 2016. Riverfront and low-lying properties are most exposed. Check your address on Maryland's flood risk map site to see whether it sits in a mapped flood zone.
My old house in the historic district has a musty crawl space. Is that water damage?
Possibly. Musty odors often mean moisture is collecting under the floor from a plumbing leak, poor drainage around the foundation or a damaged vapor barrier. Left alone, that moisture can soften floor joists and support mold. A restoration provider can measure moisture in the crawl space and framing, find the source and recommend drying or repairs.
A pipe burst during a cold snap. What should I do first?
Shut off the main water valve, turn off electricity to wet areas if you can do so safely, and open faucets to drain the lines. Photograph the damage, move belongings out of wet rooms and call your insurer. Because many homes here have plumbing in crawl spaces, also check below the floor, where water may be pooling out of sight.