Four weeks after storm, some Jacksonville residents still waiting on debris removal to begin
That came as news to some residents in the storm zone.
"That stuff has been piled by the street since the Saturday after the storm," said
Monday marked one month since an EF-3 tornado struck
Officials have said many times that cleanup will take months, but the county's cleanup contractor,
On Monday, county engineer
"The first pass of debris pickup should be complete," Rosenbalm said. He said that work might not be obvious to passers-by, because homeowners may be pushing new debris to the curb. County officials have said that DRC can reach only the debris within 10 feet of the road, and will have to make multiple runs.
But for residents who've been looking at the same mounds of garbage for weeks, it's clear that some streets haven't seen a crew yet.
"I saw them for the first time this morning," said
Casey said he believed the recliner move might be a precursor to a pickup. City and county officials have been urging people to separate vegetation from demolition debris. Rosenbalm said DRC began picking up some demolition debris over the weekend; the first pass was just for trunks and branches.
Attempts to reach DRC for comment were not successful. Rosenbalm said it's possible some streets could have been missed.
"If there are citizens out there who have not seen a truck in front of their house, we'd like to hear from them," Rosenbalm said.
Debris-clearing trucks weren't the only thing local residents were waiting for. Gov.
Officials of the
"One of the things we're really trying to do is manage expectations," said
According to
Lucas said storm victims don't have to wait for a disaster declaration to begin working on things they'll need to do in the event aid becomes available.
"You don't have to wait until you find out if it's a yes or no," Lucas said. "People should make sure they contact their insurance agent, document any damage and go ahead and begin cleanup."
Volunteers from the Long-Term Recovery Committee, a group set up by local nonprofits, are expected to hit the streets next week for a door-to-door assessment of storm victims' needs, said
Jenkins said he expected the group would find at least some uninsured storm victims who've lost their homes. The committee's biggest need, he said, is money. A similar committee worked for three to four years after the
"We will exhaust whatever is in that fund, and it will all go to help people affected by the storm," he said.
People can donate through the
The committee will hold its first official meeting Wednesday at
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