“It's never going to end”: Experiences of residents recovering in damaged dwellings after superstorm sandy

Abstract

Recovering from a disaster while simultaneously living in a barely habitable home poses significant challenges for residents. Although the process of recovering in-situ is common following hurricanes, it remains understudied in the disaster science literature. This study explores this experience through the examination of two primary questions. First, given its inherent challenges, why do residents live in their significantly damaged dwellings during recovery? Second, what is the nature of this experience, physically, emotionally, and perceptually? This article explores the experiences of ten Hurricane Sandy (2012) survivors who undertook housing recovery while living in barely habitable dwellings. Data were gathered from focus groups conducted with Superstorm Sandy Survivors from New Jersey five years after the hurricane. An inductive qualitative content analysis was used to understand housing recovery processes from the perspectives of residents recovering in situ. Findings examine the physical, emotional, and perceptual nature of this experience, highlighting reasons why households recover in-situ, the hazards and vulnerabilities associated with that experience, and the elusive nature of emotional recovery. This study contributes to the growing body of literature surrounding recovery experiences, and it introduces valuable insights into the challenges that survivors face while recovering in-situ.