Why is it taking so long to recover? Hell, Katrina victims are still out there 8 years later.
Insurance not paying off?
Dishonest contractors?
Rampant Corruption?
They think that the longer they sit and do nothing, the bigger the payday. That’s why we still have Katrina “victims” bumming around New Orleans.
1. Insurance settlements may not be sufficient to rebuild a home in the same place, in which case the claimant should take the cash from the insurance company and use it to buy a home somewhere else instead of waiting around for someone to "fix" the situation.
2. Many of these homes simply can't be rebuilt in the same place because newer building codes and land use controls make it completely impractical. One of the untold stories about many of these areas along the New Jersey coast is that these towns would never be there today if they didn't already exist decades ago before these codes were in place.
Item #2 is an interesting dilemma in many areas. The linked article references a particular case along the Hudson River waterfront where a high-rise tower (and this is probably a very expensive place to live, based on that area) built in a flood plain cannot be renovated without first raising the entire building.
Occasionally, I still see Katrina license plates here in Metro Atlanta - those Lousisana plates with very out dated registrations. Those people that relocated here to suck off the entitlement teat here.