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Anger, Angst Voiced by Flood Victims Who Sustained Uncovered Losses

Roderick Scott from Louisiana-based L & R Resources

By Christopher Knoll

WILDWOOD – With anxiety evident in her voice, Kathy Gonzalez, a 12-year resident of North Wildwood, let her exasperation show when she said, “I’m scared.” She spoke during a well-attended meeting in the Wildwood Municipal Building April 6.
When “Superstorm Sandy” lashed Gonzalez’ house in October 2012, it resulted in 50 percent damage to her residence. She had flood insurance, but quickly learned that the policy was only going to cover one-third of the damages.
“(The policy) was going to pay for a toilet, but no sink. It would pay for a front door, but no back door. It was crazy,” Gonzalez exclaimed.
She attempted to consult with an insurance adjustor three separate times but it ended up being a useless task.
Her world became more complex when she received notification that she had to elevate her residence or face higher insurance premiums. When a letter from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arrived informing her that she qualified for an Increased Cost of Containment (ICC) grant, there appeared to be a life line.
The hoped-for reprieve, however, did not last long. Capping out at $30,000, Kathy found that estimates from contractors to raise her house easily trumped the grant amount.  
Frustration mounted as she spent years trying to find a contractor to accept the grant allowance. Now time is running out. If the grant goes unused by year end, Gonzalez will lose what little token assistance she has been offered.
To make matters worse, Gonzalez learned that north and central New Jersey areas, like Toms River, were provided information about obtaining the state-funded Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation Program (RREM) grants that capped out at $150,000.
That amount of money would have changed Gonzalez’ entire situation. Instead, she had to take on a second mortgage and is faced with the possibility of adding a third if she is not one of the pre-designated 300 Wildwood residents that will be receiving 100 percent funding for flood assistance.
The New Math
During the meeting, certified floodplain manager Roderick Scott from Louisiana-based L & R Resources, LLC, addressed the topic of flood hazard mitigation.
Starting last year the newly-revised calculations for flood insurance premiums kicked in for commercial and non-primary residences. This year, primary residence homeowners face the new math. And what is the new calculus?
A primary residence owner now faces a 12 percent per year rise in premiums (capping out at $2,500 per year) if mitigation is not accomplished. A non-profit structure faces a 19 percent rise, while commercial buildings and non-primary residences face a 25 percent rise.
These revisions were necessary because premiums were being assigned to properties that existed before flood maps were even created. Any structure built before 1970 faces these adjustments. And thanks to the motivation of a $20 billion dollar FEMA deficit for flood insurance, those premiums are about to skyrocket unless homeowners undergo mitigation.
Affected residents have four options to choose in order to secure (i.e. mitigate) discounted flood insurance rates:
* They can relocate the residence to non-flood prone areas.
* They can subject the residence to demolition. Selling it would be practically impossible.
* They can flood proof the residence with specified barriers and/or sump pumps with independent sources of power.
* They can elevate the residence, which may also require some flood venting.
If a resident lives three feet above the seven-foot flood level in Wildwood (which is itself just six to nine feet above sea level) they face on average a $955 per year rise in premiums.
A resident at the flood level would have to pay on average an extra $1,410 per year, while the unlucky owner living four feet below the flood level would be hit with an average of $9,500 per year rise in premiums.
“We can do this”
As this math settled in among attendees, Scott cautioned optimism and listed funding options available:
• State and federal grants
• Use of home equity loans
• Fairly new Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 203k loan
• Multi-bank loans
• Revenue bonding
Attempting to motivate and imbue his audience with confidence, Scott stated, “We’re the country that built the Panama Canal. We’re the country that went to the moon. We can do this.”
There were those in attendance that certainly hoped so.
Bob and Donna Kubicky, 40-year residents of Wildwood, were hoping to learn what their government officials were proposing. Superstorm Sandy and then Winter Storm Jonas left their crawl space, furnace and accompanying duct work damaged by flood waters.
Barbara Kwasniek, also a 40-year resident, has lost five cars to flooding over the years. In a letter she had typed for distribution at the meeting, Kwasniek wrote, “We need to get the federal and state governments…..to recognize the back bays as a flooding hazard. They only recognize oceanfront because that is where they think all the revenue is. We all know that is wrong.”
The sense that their local government had left them in the dark was a common one at the meeting. At one point, while Scott addressed measures for mitigation, he commented, “The city will have more information,” a notion one resident audibly scoffed.
Others voiced disbelief that there was not a way to be informed about meetings and flood-related discussions similar to the way they receive flood warnings through social media.
In a nutshell
During the question-and-answer period, Scott encapsulated the problem Wildwood residents face.
For over a generation, half of the state’s population has relocated to the shore. That fact created billions of dollars in property value at risk of rising sea levels.
Government officials are, according to Scott, well-versed in the risks of greater flooding, but have no real training or education when it comes to mitigating those risks.
Now, people like Gonzalez are caught in an assistance gap because, as Scott stated, “We made the rules without having the proper tools.”
For those interested in learning more, a follow-up meeting with Wildwood’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will be held April 9 from 9 to 11:00 a.m. at Wildwood Municipal Building, 4400 New Jersey Ave., Wildwood. 
To contact Christopher Knoll, email cknoll@cmcherald.com.

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