For Some New Jersey Homeowners, The Disaster of Hurricane Sandy Isn’t Over Yet

A decade after Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, Toms River resident Matt Rusinski has crossed more rebuilding thresholds than others displaced by the storm.

He’s back in his home, the repairs complete after he meticulously tracked evaluations from adjusters, estimates from architects and receipts from local and federal financial aid.

He did everything he was instructed to do in order to receive the aid, only to face the possibility of needing to sell his home to pay for the recoupment of overpaid funds and duplication of benefits the government has told him he owes.

With Sandy’s widespread impact, he’s not the only New Jersey resident who is still trying to resolve the storm’s weighty financial impact 10 years later.

The superstorm -- as it has become known after a last-minute downgrade from a Category 1 hurricane to a post-tropical storm before making landfall -- sent New Jersey and neighboring states reeling as it slammed into the coastline near Atlantic City with hurricane-force sustained winds of 80 mph on Oct. 29, 2012, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).