STATUS OF RECOVERY FROM SUPERSTORM SANDY, NORTHERN NEW JERSEY SHORE: LESSONS FROM THE FIRST 1000 DAYS

The status of recovery from the catastrophic damage from SuperStorm Sandy which made landfall on October 29-30, 2012 has been uneven. The merger of a large coastal front with the waning Class 1 Hurricane caused landfall and subjected the northern New Jersey’s coast of Monmouth and Ocean Counties not only to huge oceanfront damage but also to unprecedented and totally unexpected damage from a 1.5m surge up the back bays and rivers. This surge’s level was a full 67.3 cm/26.5in above the tide of record (1950) and swamped thousands of many older, post-World War 11 slab-on-grade bungalows and others built to older and outdated FEMA FIRM maps (Flood Insurance Rate Maps). While utilities, transportation and commercial rebuilding (including tourist-related construction such as boardwalks, shops and restaurants) have steadily rebounded with $2.4 billion in FEMA funds, homes of permanent residents and secondary, vacation homes have progressed much more slowly. From the very beginning, disaster aid was delayed by Congress, inaccessibility due to significant utility damage prevented cleanup efforts for weeks stretching to months, and overwhelmed government officials on all levels were slow to gear up and respond.

However, of the nearly $1.4 billion allocated to HUD for restoration of housing to permanent residents, only 1300 homes have been rebuilt, but not even half of those have been elevated, and only 64 are deemed finished. Those with secondary homes who had only homeowner’s insurance to help them, suffered from consistent low-balling of payments and manipulation of their engineering reports, and have done very poorly. Those of modest means, many have had to walk away, or sell. FEMA has been pressured to review 142,000 claims their secondary insurers tried to claim were due to pre-existing structural faults. Those nearly 800 that sued FEMA in federal court have finally been reaching settlements in recent months. This has been an incredibly stressful experience for both permanent and secondary residents, affecting the economic rebound of the whole area. For instance, if a house was finally restored, and the residents could finally move back in, they then had to move back out again when the money came through to then elevate the house to the new FEMA standards, causing additional rental moving expenses and often changing schools again.