A hamlet built in harm's way

Like her neighbors in the quiet, riverfront hamlet of Hoffman Grove, Melissa Miller knew the area's history of flooding and the potential for loss of life and property.

Still, three years ago, when a chance arose to buy a relative's home in this secluded and low-lying section of Wayne Township, Miller snatched it up for $90,000 and moved in with her husband and two young sons.

Where else in New Jersey, she asked herself, could you find such a deal on a starter home? On the surface, it was a slice of the American dream, complete with good public schools, safe streets and the gently flowing Pompton River behind the house.

Then came heavy rains and melting snow that caused her yard and local streets to flood three times within months of her arrival.

Miller had bought into one of the hundreds of places in New Jersey -- from the barrier islands of southern New Jersey to the flood-prone Passaic River watershed -- that probably should never have been built upon.

"I looked at my husband and kind of jokingly said, 'We're selling the house,'" said Miller, a Hudson County native, as she described an escape in late December 2003. "Because it was already the third flood. And I said, 'Okay, we're done, I'm out of here, I'm not used to this.'"

from NJ Star-Ledger