New Jersey family raises home to fight flooding
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Amanda Devecka-Rinear of New Jersey decided to raise her family’s home, purchased in 1929, to protect it from increasing flood risks along Barnegat Bay.
The house narrowly avoided damage during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 because it was temporarily elevated for construction. This event showed Devecka-Rinear the importance of height in protecting the property, which had been passed down from her great-grandfather and grandmother.
Devecka-Rinear wanted to preserve the house not just as a building, but as a link to her family’s history. She learned that Stafford Township had received funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help residents elevate homes, but the program only covered twelve households. She financed the $140,000 project by borrowing from family and accepting reimbursement after the work was completed.
While elevating the house reduced the risk of flood damage to the structure itself, it couldn't protect surrounding infrastructure like roads and utilities. The township is also considering broader improvements to address these issues. For Devecka-Rinear, the project secured a family inheritance and led her to advocate for more accessible disaster recovery assistance through the New Jersey Organizing Project.
