Ida survivors still trying to recover two years later / September 1, 2023 / NJ Spotlight

By Melissa Rose Cooper

Two years after it hit, many New Jersey residents are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ida. In Milford, Leanna Jones says that despite having flood insurance, the insurance company would not cover a lot of the damage to her home. She was able to get a federal loan but was forced to take out credit cards to try and pay out of her own pocket. She and her two children are back home but still struggling to recover completely, she said.

“The water out here must’ve been two or three feet. We weren’t here for the worst of it thankfully because we’re in the fire station down the road. That was just completely devastating — our new home,” Jones said. Her children, she said, were “really traumatized.”

Cameron Foster, communications organizer with New Jersey Organizing Project, said, “Instead of leaving survivors to foot the bill, our state needs to step up to the plate. New Jersey has had a historic budget … So if the federal funds aren’t enough, our state has the resources and the responsibility to fill the gap.”

According to the state Department of Community Affairs, it’s doing everything it can to expedite the recovery process. A department spokesperson said, “DCA also put together a proposal to reallocate $52.4 million in Superstorm Sandy funds for Hurricane Ida recovery. The Department later this month will submit both plans to the federal government for approval. Upon approval by HUD, which is expected this fall, DCA will have allocated a total of $429 million for Ida recovery.”