In the past two weeks my wife Debbie and I drove through Long Beach Island and Holgate then from Seaside Heights up to Mantoloking and Bay Head to view the damage. Frankly, I was knocked on my butt. We waited a few months to stay out of the way of the cleanup and utility crews but 110 days after the storm shows the extend of the damage and the incredible amount of time and money it will take to try to fix. Notice I didn't say recover because perhaps some people never will.
Dozens of ocean front homes were broken in half and many more essentially destroyed although still standing. Some of the small bungalows in Ortley Beach and Lavalette were knocked off their foundations and others just washed away. The fight with insurance companies is just starting and will go on for months if not a year and when the dust settles, the uninsured losses will be staggering.
Good Luck Point in Bayville is as bad as the Barnegat Beach Island ocean fronts even though it is bayfront.
The days of fairly inexpensive flood insurance are gone and many people will have to raise their houses several feet. Sadly, if they can't afford to and don't qualify for any grants they will be forced to sell....at a discount.
It will be interesting to look back 5 years from now.
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