Further, of the people who did return, it seems that many discovered houses full of maggots and mold and decided to just leave, never to return
I don't think I would want to come back and live there either. I do not blame people for wanting to move on. It must be disheartening to find homes you have lived/raised families in, in this condition.
I don't think it was the maggots and the mold that kept them from moving back.If it was me I'd be more conserned about living 10 feet below sea level on a flood plain in an area that had been hit by two hurricanes in less than a month,in an area prone to hurricanes.I can't imagine rebuilding with that on my mind.They should just save the important historic places and let the rest revert to flood plain.