Estimates

SPOTLIGHTUNITED STATESDisplaced people in New Jersey stillseeking solutions after superstorm SandyOver 39,000 people who fled their homesin east coast regions of the United Statesin October 2012 to escape superstormSandy are still in need of housing assistanceand longer term solutions. 163 Theirpredicament has lasted well beyond thetwo-year recovery period envisaged bythe state and federal authorities. 164In far more vulnerable countries hit bythe same storm, such as Haiti, protracteddisplacement might be expected giventhe country’s relatively weak capacity forrecovery. 165 The situation in the US showsthat poorer and more marginalised membersof the population in a high incomecountry are also more likely to face longterm challenges.Heavy rains, hurricane-force windsand extensive coastal flooding causedsevere disruption and damage to privatehomes, businesses and public infrastructurealong the eastern seaboard,in the Appalachians and across parts ofthe Midwest, forcing more than 750,000people to flee their homes at the peakof the crisis. 166 In the absence of a local,state or federal agency that monitors displacementcaused by disasters, there areno official estimates of how many peopleare still without solutions to their displacement.167Specific information about the plightof people displaced in the badly affectedstate of New Jersey, however, providesimportant insights into their ongoingneeds and the obstacles they face inachieving durable solutions. 168Of the 161,000 families (430,700 people)recorded as displaced in New Jerseythe day after Sandy struck, around 39,000families (104,300 people) were still displacedsix months later, according to thestate governor. 169 Two and a half yearslater, based on applications made forgovernment reconstruction assistance,14,650 families or around 39,200 peoplewho owned their destroyed pre-Sandyhomes are still in need of housing solutions(see figure 5.9). An unknown numberwho were tenants before Sandy severelydamaged their homes are similarly inneed. 170We cannot move one moretime to a home that’s not ours… Every day is 30 October2012 for us. We’re stuckwhere we were the day afterthe storm.Displaced woman, Belmar, NewJersey, 4 February 2015 171Many are living with family and friendsor in temporary rented accommodation,and some have had to move a number oftimes. 172 Some people living in damagedmobile home communities have been forciblyevicted and their trailers bulldozed. 173Many people who were not displaced orreturned quickly are still living in homesthat are damaged or do not comply withbuilding standards. 174Monmouth University’s polling institutehas tracked the experiences of the NewJersey residents hardest hit by the disasterover time. It defines “hardest hit” as those“who were displaced from their homes fora month or more, or sustained $8,000 ormore in damage to a primary home due toSandy”. Findings from a survey in October2014 show that only 28 per cent of peoplestill displaced after a year were able tomove back to their homes over the following12 months. Sixty-seven per centremained displaced after two years, andsix per cent said they would never returnto their original homes (see figure 5.10). 175The longer people are displaced for,the greater their needs become acrossa range of areas. 176 The greatest needamong all people surveyed was for moneyto rebuild their homes and retrofit themfor flood resilience. Among those stilldisplaced after two years, the need toreplace household items such as furnitureand appliances was far greater thanamong other groups (see figure 5.11).Those still displaced after two yearswere also in much greater need of financialassistance. Some were strugglingto meet their basic needs and feed theirfamilies, in many cases because theyfaced the double burden of paying bothrent and the mortgage on the former70 Global Estimates 2015