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Value of oceanfront homes likely to plummet if federal sand subsidies disappear
In areas of North Carolina and New Jersey, where the current rate of beach erosion can be four times the historical average, property values could drop 17 percent for towns with high property values and as much as 34 percent for towns with low property values if federal sand subsidies disappear, according to new research. -
As flood damage from storms swells, a growing, controversial call to buy out homeowners
Scituate is the front line in New England’s expensive, losing battle against the sea. With few offshore barriers to curb a storm’s fury, the coastal town accounts for nearly 40 percent of Massachusetts’ homes and businesses that are so flood-prone the federal government calls them “severe repetitive loss” properties. Now a growing movement is underway to level the homes that cost taxpayers the most to keep dry. The state Legislature in July set aside $20 million in a bond bill to begin a voluntary buyback for repeatedly damaged coastal homes and convert the land to recreational areas or wildlife refuges. Coastal legislators are urging new Governor Charlie Baker to tap into the fund in the wake of January’s blizzard. -
Mass. law makes flood insurance more affordable yet some see risks
Homeowners in flood zones are likely to find it easier to afford rising insurance rates with a new law recently signed by Governor Deval Patrick. -
Appeal filed for federal government to release addresses of vulnerable coastal homes
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting earlier this year spent two months piecing together the story of a Scituate, Mass. house that collected taxpayer-financed flood claims at least nine times in the past 35 years. Its owner was in the process of applying for her second taxpayer-funded grant in a decade to elevate the $1.2 million home. But we don’t know if she got it. -
Conn. city may eliminate job that helped with post-Sandy damage, sea level rise
The numbers speak volumes about Milford, Connecticut’s vulnerability to sea level rise: 4,000 structures in a flood plain – a whopping 900 of them damaged… -
Sand Wars continue to simmer
New England's “sand wars” continue to simmer as communities debate who should pay to protect the New England coast from the ocean’s fury. Newbury… -
The start of the "Sand Wars"
From Westerly, Rhode Island to Eliot, Maine, debates over who gets sand, who pays for it and where it comes from are fast becoming some of the region’s most contentious oceanfront issues. In many cases, taxpayers are being asked to foot some of the bill for beach-rebuilding projects.