Community Corner

In Sunshine Harbor, Sandy Victims Left Waiting

Delays in insurance payouts and possible changes to FEMA's flood maps are cause for concern in the Point Boro community

When his neighbor called to tell him the storm was worsening, Rick Daw went downstairs armed with a flashlight to investigate. In front of his sliding glass doors he watched as the surging water lapped against his concrete patio, getting closer all the time.

In minutes, the salt water had breached his home. As his carpet began to darken, the water spreading fast on the ground floor, he and his wife left their home in search of higher ground.

Sunshine Harbor, a low-lying neighborhood east of Beaver Dam Road and south of Riviera Parkway, was one of many coastal communities struck particularly hard by Hurricane Sandy.

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Some homes in the development are still empty and many, like Daw's, are in the midst of reconstruction. Standing in his family room - the sheetrock has been replaced but new flooring has yet to be installed - Daw said things have gone smoothly, all things considered. 

It's what comes next that's of some concern. 

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According to Daw, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps dictate that he raise his home at least 5 feet or else face exorbitant flood insurance premiums when the maps are adopted into the National Flood Insurance Program.

The state and Gov. Christie have all but committed to the current elevations, giving residents in shore communities little hope that they'll have the administration's support in a fight with FEMA. 

It all amounts to added pressure on those already struggling to recover.

"You have good days, but then you have days where you just don't want to be doing this anymore," Daw said of the ongoing recovery effort. "Everybody's waiting to see what's going to happen (with the flood maps), but then some people are still waiting to hear from their insurance."

The cost of raising your home depends on several factors, including just how high, whether you need pilings, and how big your home is. Generally, residents in Shore towns say they've been given quotes of around $80,000 to elevate their properties.

Those with flood insurance are eligible for FEMA's Increase Cost of Compliance funding to raise their homes, but it only offers $30,000. For Daw and his wife, who had to dip into their retirement savings as they waited months for their insurance check to arrive, the burden would be substantial. 

The hope is that the flood maps are changed. Daw hopes the new ones reflect the fact that in the 36 years he and his wife have lived in Sunshine Harbor, the only flooding they've seen was during Hurricane Sandy, an officially-named once-a-century storm.

Officials in Shore municipalities think the maps can be changed, but the idea isn't shared by FEMA. Agency officials have said any changes to the maps likely won't increase elevations, but as far as decreasing elevations, or removing neighborhoods from flood zones, that might not happen. 

"We'll see what happens," Daw said. "If it's something they would help us with, then I'm all for it.

"I don't know. It isn't cast in stone yet. Maybe it could all go away?"

Just a few houses down, Jeff Guilfoyle is in the process of getting his flood insurance to cover the cost of the estimated $130,000 worth of damage Sandy caused to his home. 

Finding himself now in an A Zone, Guilfoyle is uncertain how much he'll have to raise his home, if at all. The property is already elevated, he said, but his home still saw as much as 18 inches of water during Sandy. 

He said he's lucky that the damage wasn't enough to drive him from his home. A number of the houses on his street - all of them primary residences - have been left unattended since the storm. Like Daw, Guilfoyle shares the optimistic realization that things could have been worse.

"Most of the neighborhood was wiped out," he said. "I was able to use some lines of credit to get the (restoration) job done. So, now I'm in debt, but I'm still home." 


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