A Year After Sandy, A Slow Recovery For Thousands

NEW YORK (AP) -- A year after Superstorm Sandy catastrophically flooded hundreds of miles of eastern U.S. coastline, thousands of people still trying to fix their soaked and surf-battered homes are being stymied by bureaucracy, insurance disputes and uncertainty over whether they can even afford to rebuild.

Billions of dollars in federal aid appropriated months ago by Congress have yet to reach homeowners who need that money to move on. Many have found flood insurance checks weren't nearly enough to cover the damage.

And worse, new federal rules mean many in high-risk flood zones may have to either jack their houses up on stilts or pilings - an expensive, sometimes impossible task - or face new insurance rates that hit $10,000 or more per year.

"It's just been such a terrible burden," said Gina Maxwell, whose home in Little Egg Harbor, N.J., is still a wreck after filling with 4 feet of water. Contractors say it will cost $270,000 to rebuild - about double what the insurance paid out. The family doesn't have the money.

"What do we do with this house? Just give them the deed back?" she said. "My son is 11. He has a little piggy bank in his room. He said, `Take it, mom.'"

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