Superstorm Sandy By The Numbers - A Grim Picture For Berkeley Township

More than 1,500 homes in Berkeley Township were damaged, some severely, when Superstorm Sandy slammed into Berkeley Township on Oct. 29, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.

The total number of homes damaged was 1,556. Of that amount, 187 homes had severe damage, 727 homes had major damage and 642 had minor damage, according to figures released by DCA.

The storm also impacted 933 businesses and 172 rental units. Twelve rental units had severe damage, 57 had major damage and 103 had minor damage, the report states.

Severe damage is defined as more than $28,800. Major damage ranges from $8,000 to $28,800; minor damage is up to $8,000.

Sandy battered the waterfront communities of Good Luck Point, Glen Cove, South Seaside Park, Pelican Island and Toms River Shores. Almost five months later, many residents have been unable to return home and some may never be able to.

The DCA released its action plan for spending billions of dollars in Community Block Grant Disaster Recover funds on Tuesday. The initial phase will provide $1.8 billion to help more than 20,000 homeowners, 5,000 renters, 10,000 businesses, as well as municipalities impacted by the storm.

Click here to view an interactive map of Sandy destruction compiled by njspotlight.com., To view the action plan, visit the state Department of Community Affairs website at www.nj.gov/dca.

When the numbers are further broken down by zip code, the 08721 area was hit the hardest.
• Home owners seeking housing assistance: 1,737
• Median income range: $0 - $60,000
• Average damage amount: $11,923.85
• Number with FEMA-inspected damage of more than $30,000: 91
• Number getting maximum grant ($31,400): 23
• Number of renters seeking assistance: 1,737
• Median income range: $25,000 - $25,000
• Number with income between $0 and $15,000: 245
• Number with income more than $90,000: 505
• Number with substantial damage: 45

The DCA report states that nearly 87,000 housing units were damaged statewide, about 12,500 of those were either destroyed or sustained major damage. At least 1,000 residences were damaged in 24 municipalities in seven counties. Nearly 400,000 businesses were impacted, as well.

The initial phase of the DCA's action plan will provide $1.8 billion to help more than 20,000 homeowners, 5,000 renters, 10,000 businesses, as well as municipalities impacted by the storm.

“This plan puts into motion the specific actions we’ve been designing to get relief out as quickly as possible to our Sandy-impacted homeowners and businesses – to reconstruct, rehabilitate and elevate homes, and to get over hurdles for our small businesses to get up and running again,” Gov. Chris Christie said.

More than 50 percent of the funding will be dedicated to low-to-moderate-income households. Additionally, 80 percent of the funds will be dedicated to the nine most heavily impacted counties in the state, which includes Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union.