“A lot of people were not happy,” Bayra said, recalling that some neighbors thought they should get more money for their homes. Bayra said she and her husband realized they would have a hard time selling it themselves, so they accepted it and moved to a house higher up, but still in Manville, where she grew up.
Except when there’s a major flood, Onderko said, Manville is a good place to live. So homeowners, even in two parts of the city known for flooding, could go years without having to deal with a water disaster.
Onderko said residents had long relied on a mix of government help to rebuild after flooding, but in 2021, two years after Ida hit, the state said it would use federal funds only for the Blue Acres purchase of flood-prone properties in Mannville.
Onderko said he and residents were surprised by the policy change. He also believes that elevation and renovation remain viable options for some homes. The purchases take time, he said, and the city loses tax revenue from properties sold through the Blue Acres program. “It doesn’t help the city to lose [tax] Ratables,” said the mayor, who added that the city also covers the cost of maintaining the open space.
Now in his third term as mayor, Onderko, who lives in a house on higher ground than his childhood home, sounds more like an asset manager than a municipal executive as he presides over a city that is a mix of neighborhoods. Some are on higher ground and do not flood, but others are in areas that frequently flood. There, empty grassy lots left over from destroyed Blue Acres properties are mixed with homes that have been elevated, repaired or are still in recovery mode. “It’s very disappointing,” Onderko said.
Looking to the future, the mayor said he believes many more homes will be at risk whenever the next flood occurs. And Onderko isn’t particularly optimistic about how that will play out.
“It would take a miracle to try to save this city,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
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