A new study by the Ohio River Valley Institute and Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center has two cost estimates for rebuilding or replacing the 9,000 homes damaged or destroyed last summer. Eric Dixon, a senior researcher with the Ohio River Valley Institute, said the cost depends on the meaning of the word “rebuild.”
“If you were to repair the damaged homes, and replace the destroyed homes, or leave them in, in the locations that they were at, regardless of future flood risk, then it's going to cost about $450 million to rebuild the housing.”
Dixon says the other approach carries a much higher price tag, but would eventually save money.
“If you repair the damaged homes, and replace the destroyed homes, and many of the majorly damaged homes, in new locations, you know, on higher ground that are safer, then it's going to cost a lot more, it's going to cost about 950 million dollars.”
Dixon said repair and replacement funding from FEMA only covers between 8 and 17 percent of the total rebuilding cost and many home-owners didn’t have flood insurance.
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