"The storm was one thing, and we coped.... This stress we're going through now is worse than the storm itself"
Also see: Tornado Touches Down in New Hampshire
"N.H. tornado victims still struggle; Displaced families fighting to rebuild" by Associated Press | October 29, 2008
CONCORD, N.H. - Three months after a tornado ripped a 50-mile swath through central New Hampshire, some residents are still caught in a swirl of red tape as they fight to rebuild their damaged or destroyed homes and get on with their lives.
Arlene and Bill Moffitt are living in a trailer where their house once stood next to Northwood Lake. Arlene, 71, and Bill, 64, say that since late July, they have done nothing but tangle with their insurance company, mortgage company, town officials, and the bank as they try to rebuild. They had to speak with 37 agents at the mortgage company, Bill Moffitt said, before checks were issued and ground was finally broken last week. They hope to be in the house by Christmas.
"The storm was one thing, and we coped," he told the Concord Monitor. "This stress we're going through now is worse than the storm itself."
The availability of federal money for public rather than private costs has frustrated some homeowners. In the Locke Lake area of Barnstead, Ken Dustin complained that a town-owned lot next to his house was quickly cleared, while he was unable to get trees overhanging his damaged house removed.
"They're using federal money to clean an empty lot, but we get no help whatsoever," Dustin said. Paying living expenses, rent, and the mortgage on the uninhabited home took enough money that Dustin, 40, was unable to renew his tractor-trailer registration. He is no longer working and, until insurance money comes in, cannot put his construction skills to work rebuilding. --more--"
And whatever happened after Ike, readers?
