Hardest hit Sandy victims unhappy with N.J. recovery 5 years later, poll says

More than half of the Superstorm Sandy victims that have been tracked in the five years since the storm decimated New Jersey are still dissatisfied with the state's recovery efforts, a new poll shows.

Of 432 people hit hard by the October 2012 storm who have now been interviewed four times since then, 55 percent are either somewhat or very dissatisfied, a Monmouth University poll released Wednesday reveals. That's down from the 67 percent who selected one of those two choices in October 2013.

About 54 percent of respondents also told interviewers that their family's financial situation is currently worse than it was before the October 2012 storm. More than a third (36 percent) say it's about the same.

On a positive note, the number of people requiring assistance to pay their mortgages has decreased from 26 percent three years ago to 13 percent now.

Three in four people asked have been able to return to their pre-Sandy properties, though nearly half (47 percent) had to make major repairs.

The study notes that the panel is not a scientific sample representative of all New Jersey Sandy victims, the results "illustrate the challenges many continue to face," the study's organizers said.

The new wave of interviews were completed in the past two months.

Saturday marks the five-year anniversary of when the first rain from Sandy began to hit New Jersey. The storm killed 40 in New Jersey and caused tens of billions in damage in the state.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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