Removing Debris Removes Obstacles To Recovery
Release Date: June 12, 2008
Release Number: 1761-024
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ATLANTA, Ga. --Mother Natures early May fury delivered a one-two punch to thousands in Georgia. Along with damage to or total loss of their homes, people have also had to face dangerous mounds of debris on their property and throughout their communities. But Georgians are receiving state, federal and voluntary agency assistance to tackle the problem.
About 26 voluntary agencies responded to the Georgia disaster including the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army; three have played a critical role in the cleanup of debris.
Assistance in clearing private property has come with the helping hands and esprit de corps of three voluntary agencies the Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief Ministry, the North Carolina-based Samaritans Purse and the Georgia office of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
Within days the agencies gathered volunteers who rolled up their sleeves, picked up chainsaws or manned Bobcat skid steers (self-propelled compact loaders) to begin the cleanup.
This has been a monumental effort, said Jerry Harfoot, FEMAs Voluntary Agency Liaison. FEMA values the efforts and assistance from voluntary agencies to help a community trying to recover from disasters.
Voluntary organizations are an important part of FEMAs mission to provide support and guidance to states recovering from disaster. Once an emergency requires the attention of the state and the disaster has been declared by the president, the FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL), located at the disaster site, contacts the voluntary agencies to update them with situation information. Upon declaration,
the FEMA VAL schedules and conducts a coordinating meeting with the primary responding
voluntary agencies.
One of those agencies, Samaritans Purse, is affiliated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and has offices and staff worldwide. Their volunteers took 650 work orders from Georgia families needing their assistance. More than 150 volunteers picked up debris, much of it large trees.
UMCOR joined Samaritans Purse in Bibb County and cleaned up debris from 36 homes. They have 13 more work orders to complete when more volunteer teams arrive.
Stuart Lang, disaster relief director for the Georgia Baptist Convention said the response to help Georgians was overwhelming. We were aided by volunteers from North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Those volunteers completed 450 jobs or requests for debris removal.
We appreciate the work these agencies do, said Jeff Bryant, FEMAs federal coordinating officer. Volunteers help people by providing the extra assistance and the enthusiasm to recover.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are helping to fund the removal of debris in streets and public rights of way. A task force of county and state interests led by FEMA has been on the ground in hardest hit Bibb County since day one of the disaster to handle the issue. Debris removal began with an emergency push to clear the streets, followed by another sweep to pick up what was moved into the rights of way. Nearly 400,000 cubic yards mostly vegetative matter is on the ground in Bibb County and in the City of Macon. This amount alone would fill 70 million gallon containers.
About 30 percent of the debris in the disaster-declared counties has been picked up, said GEMA Deputy State Coordinating Officer Joe McKinney. And that is a rough estimate. Well be working with all the affected counties for as long as it takes.
As debris removal in the 13 declared counties continues so does the work of the task force to assist local governments, applicants for GEMA/FEMA Public Assistance. A debris specialist has been added to the force, pitching in to advise applicants.
Some of the advice is on how local governments can write debris-removal contracts to get the most for their dollars, said Bryant. Contracts written by applicants are not only to remove debris but also to monitor those efforts.
Debris removal from private property is up to the owner unless the debris causes widespread immediate threats to the public. The Georgia disaster did not qualify for this assistance.
FEMA coordinates the federal governments role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.
SBAs disaster loans are the primary form of federal assistance for non-farm, private sector disaster losses. Disaster loans from SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and nonprofit organizations fund repair and replacement of disaster damaged real and personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 or online at www.sba.gov
Last Modified: Thursday, 12-Jun-2008 17:16:00