NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Ten years ago this week, word was circulating about a potentially devastating hurricane.
Superstorm Sandy made landfall in the tristate area on Oct. 29, killing more than 80 people and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. But the problem wasn’t the wind or rain.
“We actually saw quite a bit more impact particularly with storm surge,” former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told WCBS 880.
A decade after the storm, Fugate stressed that it was imperative to rebuild with improvements to prevent future damage.
“We're seeing that communities are adopting more stringent building codes that are looking at where they're building and how they're building. [They’re] doing better,” Fugate said.
Improving infrastructure is vital in the face of an increasingly changing climate, Fugate added. With storms becoming more intense more rapidly, Fugate highlighted the importance of focusing funds on mitigation. Each dollar spent on prevention, Fugate explained, saves $6 to $9 in disaster recovery.
“So it makes more sense to invest on the front end to mitigate these events than the payout or disaster that we continue to see,” Fugate said.
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