Today marks one year since Hurricane Sandy barreled into the Northeast. It was the second costliest storm on record, after Katrina, with damage totaling $50 billion.
One year later, the ruins are gone, but rebuilding is very slow.
Many who live near the shore now fear they may have to leave for good as the cost of flood insurance skyrockets.
At age 82, Mae Kelleher would like to enjoy this time of life and the serenity of her view at the Jersey Shore. But Sandy pushed nearly five feet of bay water into her home, and left behind $42,000 in damage.
Kelleher was left with a home that was “saturated with all-black muck.”
“We did the bathroom, the heating system, the hot water heater, the air conditioning. Everything was replaced,” she said.
Insurance paid for it all. The money came from a federally subsidized flood insurance program for homeowners living in flood zones, a program now running a $24 billion deficit.
Congress passed a law to get rid of that shortfall by raising insurance premiums and eliminating those federal subsidies. But roughly one million homeowners from coast to coast and in Hawaii will see their rates skyrocket.
Read more at CBS NEWS.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
