Some residents of New Jersey’s coastal towns may soon be required to purchase flood insurance, and not just because of the recent devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy.
By next year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is scheduled to complete a remapping of flood zones for shore towns, some of which haven’t had the maps updated in decades.
That could mean homeowners near the beaches would have to purchase flood insurance. But in the wake of Sandy, that might be an easier pill to swallow.
“When you [redo maps], people are now forced to buy flood insurance that didn’t need it before, and they look at elected officials thinking it’s their fault,” said Andy Anderson, of Anderson Insurance in Stafford Township and Long Beach Island.
Sandy caused $29.4 billion in damage in the Garden State, said Gov. Chris Christie. That includes lost property and business revenue, and devastation of the state’s mass-transit system.