Almost a month after Hurricane Irma battered Central Florida, Brevard County residents continue to deal with flooding and standing water in some areas and piles of debris along roadways and in front of homes.
- Only about a quarter of Hurricane Irma debris picked up in Brevard
- Officials say recent rains, storms have slowed pickup efforts
- County aiming to get it all by the end of November
“It’s very similar to Matthew as in it’s widespread, its county-wide," Brevard County spokesman Don Walker said Friday. "Drive any neighborhood — some look free and clear, and others look like they’ve been slammed by this storm system."
Officials said that crews have picked up only 26 percent of the debris across the county — meaning it could be many more weeks before they get it all.
The county said it's working around the clock to get crews on the streets to collect debris because of the rain and more flooding this week.
“The rain really has been relentless, especially on Sunday, (when) we had record rainfall. It’s harder to get these guys out there in those rain conditions collecting storm debris,” Walker said.
The county said in many ways, Irma's aftermath is similar to Hurricane Matthew. After that storm, crews collected about 800,000 cubic yards of debris. For Irma, the county expects crews will collect more than 600,000 cubic yards.
“It’s a similar process that will take a similar amount of time like Hurricane Matthew. So we’re hoping by the end of November, we’ll have it all collected,” Walker said.
The county said it sends more than 50 trucks out each day to help remove debris.