Sandy survivors struggle a year after devastated by storm

One year after Hurricane Sandy battered the eastern United States, hundreds of its survivors are still without a roof over their heads.

On October 29 last year, Sandy bashed parts of New York, New Jersey and other eastern states and caused extensive coastal damage.

The second costliest hurricane in US history killed nearly 160 people and damaged more than 650 thousand homes.

One year on, restoration efforts have been slow and only a fraction of the aid money allocated for recovery has been delivered to the communities devastated by their worst natural disaster.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development says only ten percent of the around 80 billion dollars of the federal disaster relief funds had been tapped by the end of August.

In New Jersey, only 24 percent of the more than 16,000 eligible low income families hit by the storm have received the $10,000 grant checks.

“The promises Governor (Chris) Christie made to use federal funds to help those people impacted by Sandy with the fewest resources to rebuild have been broken,” Kevin Walsh, director of the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC), said in a press release.

Hundreds of survivors are still living in shelters and rented rooms in New Jersey and elsewhere. With the winter approaching, many of them have been evicted for not paying rent for months.