Sandy Could Cost Long Beach $200 Million

Hurricane Sandy — whose 80- to 90-mph winds and 10 foot storm surge wiped out sections of Long Beach’s boardwalk and damaged its sewer and water systems and other infrastructure — could cost the city up to $200 million, with the federal government expected to pick up most or all of the bill, according to City Manager Jack Schnirman.  

As with Tropical Storm Irene last year, which costs the city approximately $2 million in damages, FEMA typically reimburses municipalities as much as 75 percent of storm-related costs, but in the case of more devastating storms — such as Hurricane Katrina — the federal government can cover as much as 90 percent of the storm-related costs, with the local government paying the remainder of the bill, according to the Long Beach Herald. Schnirman said:

We’re looking at an enormous, long-term rebuilding effort. We’re still in recovery, obviously, and we’re planning for rebuilding. What we’re looking at here is damage 100 times greater than Hurricane Irene. We’re looking at 200 million dollars, and that’s just the city’s cost, so the level of damage is truly astounding and it’s going to take time. 
In the days after the storm, Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited Long Beach and called on New York’s congressional delegation to pass legislation to allow the federal government to reimburse Long Beach and other local and state municipalities 100 percent of the costs rather than 90 percent, and State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg also called for similar measures to rebuild the city’s infrastructure.