It was a devastating blow, but as the second anniversary of the greatest calamity to hit the Jersey shore arrives this week, the restaurateur discovered, along with many other victims, that time is the best measure for grappling with the full brunt of the tragedy.
"It's been two years absolutely of an emotional roller-coaster — so sad, frustrated, happy, content, actually — but I've learned to embrace what has been dealt to me and I tried to walk away with all the positives I can," said Liaguno-Dorr, who owned JakeaBob's Bay, which was destroyed by Sandy.
The restaurant reopened in a temporary location, then closed for business reasons. She hopes to rebuild the establishment at its original waterfront location, using more than $2 million in state-approved loans, she said.
Wednesday marks two years since Sandy overwhelmed the state, causing an estimated $30 billion in damage here. Four died at the Shore and tens of thousands were left homeless from days to months. Sandy flooded or otherwise damaged about 82,000 primary residences in New Jersey, and power was out for weeks in some cases.
Highlands resident Loretta Dibble said "the hurricane has changed the town. It's certainly changed my community, and I'm sort of sad because I don't know if I'll be able to afford to be in Highlands once I sort out all the different things I'm working on right now."
Recovery from the epic tempest, by far the state's costliest natural disaster, may take at least several more years. Homeowners are slogging through the red tape and face daunting costs to elevate their homes. Communities are trying to shore up coastal defenses and become more resilient in the face of a rising sea and future mega-storms. Many beaches and some dunes have been rebuilt, along with most boardwalks and beachfront infrastructure.
But low-lying areas remain at risk from powerful nor'easters and hurricanes. Property worth billions of dollars remain in jeopardy.
"We may not have another Sandy in awhile, but we're going to have repeated flooding," said John A. Miller, a flooding expert with the New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management. "We have very vulnerable areas."
Elevating homes and other structures is a step in the right direction, Miller said. But it won't eliminate risk.
"I think that until we take a longer-term view and look more critically at the risk we face today and in the future and make more structural changes in the location and development of infrastructure, we're not going to be safe," she said.
The Asbury Park Press surveyed hard-hit municipalities in Monmouth and Ocean counties on their recovery efforts and found wide-ranging issues. Some local officials said their towns are well on the road to recovery. Others said the glass is only half full and rehabilitation will take years.
In Union Beach, less than a tenth of the 1,800 homes flooded with at least 2 feet of water during Sandy have been elevated, according to Jennifer Maier, borough administrator.
Three residents recently showed up in her office in tears because of rebuilding issues.
"For us with boots on the ground, the repercussions from Sandy are far from over," she said in an e-mail.
Kenneth G. Miller, a sea level rise expert and professor in Rutgers University's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said many homes that have been elevated since Sandy are not high enough to "truly plan" for future storms.
That's because the sea level is expected to rise about 1.4 feet by 2050, partly because the New Jersey coast is sinking, Miller said. House elevation standards are not strict enough for the long-run, he said.
"We are better prepared, but we're not ready" for the next big storm, he said.
From USATODAY.COM
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