Hurricane Sandy

Stop FEMA Now's Growing Influence

The grassroots organization has its sites set on national attention.

From its humble beginnings - a few concerned residents sitting around a table in a small sub shop in Toms River - Stop FEMA Now, the grassroots organization opposed to the federal agency’s flood maps, has grown and continues to attract crowds at meetings throughout the state. Now it’s time for the second phase. Prior to a meeting in Atlantic City to discuss flood maps with residents of yet another county, Stop FEMA Now founder George Kasimos said the causes continues to grow. More and more residents continue to discover that their homes are now listed in FEMA’s flood zones, he said, and now they’re looking for answers. And ultimately, they’re looking for a way to fight back. The group’s Facebook page has grown from just a few hundred likes…

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Hurricane Sandy

UPDATE: Christie Predicts FEMA Will Scale Back Flood Maps

Governor provides update on rebuilding, with focus on flood maps and Blue Acres buyout, and plenty of anecdotes

Gov. Chris Christie predicted the Federal Emergency Management Agency will scale back tough new flood maps it issued last December, according to news reports. Those maps place many more properties in flood zones, requiring many of them to be elevated if their owners don't want to see flood insurance rates soar, according to reports. The initial FEMA flood maps, which could create thousands more in insurance premiums and have residents raising their houses feet off the ground, are "too aggressive," said Gov. Christie at Thursday's town hall meeting. He was addressing a packed crowd of officials and residents in the Hurricane Sandy damaged town of Manasquan, and Christie returned to the complicated and controversial topic of what would …

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proud

12:16 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013

@ clamdigger, prior to the release of the preliminary maps expected in August, municipalities that are NFIP participants will be provided with a work map to identify "obstructions" to wave activity within their boundaries. It is to the benefit of the municipalities and their residents to provide FEMA with "solid" information that can be included in the overland wave propagation component of the …   more ›

Ordinance to Facilitate Manasquan Home Elevations

Council approved a change in zoning ordinance capping home elevations at 38 feet for conforming structures and 33 for non-conforming structures in V and Z Zones.

A change in Manasquan zoning regulations will allow property owners in flood prone areas to elevate their homes without need for a zoning variance, a prospect that could prove costly and time consuming as residents look to rebuild following Hurricane Sandy. The new ordinance, approved by borough council Saturday morning, caps home elevations at 38 feet for properties located in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps V and A Zones. Both zones are at risk of serious flood damage during once-a-century storms, like Sandy.  By raising the limit of property elevations, residents can rebuild or elevate their existing structures above flood levels without zoning interference.  The ordinance was adopted …

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Hurricane Sandy

Christie Stands Firm on FEMA Flood Maps

Christie decision to adopt FEMA's advisory flood maps will have a dramatic impact on coastal towns, but he's not backing down.

Gov. Chris Christie is adamant about his decision to adopt the Federal Emergency Management’s (FEMA) advisory flood maps. And while that decision will have a significant, and costly, impact on many of New Jersey’s shore towns, it’s a necessary step to ensure their survival, he said. Speaking at a mobile cabinet meeting in Union Beach nearly two weeks after announcing his decision to rebuild using the advisory flood maps as a guide, Christie said it was a difficult choice, but one he had to make. Even amidst opposition as shore towns and residents voice their objections to the maps and their expanded flood-prone A and V Zones, Christie’s not backing down. Whether towns and residents rebuild smarter and higher, or face the risk and high cost…

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Christie on Delays in Sandy Aid: 'Please Be Patient'

Plans are being formulated at the state level for how to spend Hurricane Sandy relief aid, but the money hasn't come in yet.

The state is developing plans for how and where to best allocate Hurricane Sandy relief aid, writing proposals for putting together lists for its various relevant agencies, from Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Transportation. The money will come, Gov. Chris Christie told a crowd in Union Beach Tuesday, and it will be used to rebuild New Jersey and get residents back into their hurricane-ravaged homes. Be patient, he said. The check hasn't been written yet. Christie joined other local legislators in celebration after a $50.7 billion hurricane relief bill passed in a contentious U.S. House of Representatives in January before heading off to the U.S. Senate for approval and finally to President Barack Obama’s desk for a …

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