FEMA News Desk: Debris Pick-Up a Priority as Louisianans Recover From Hurricane Ida

BATON ROUGE, La. – As Louisiana survivors start to clean up after Hurricane Ida, FEMA urges you to know the best approach for removing debris from your property. You shouldn’t wait to clean up storm damage. Instead, start the clean-up process as soon as possible and document the damage with photos or videos.

Take care when cleaning up. Dangling power lines, flooding, reptiles, spiders, and other hazards remain. Treat every wire as a live wire; do not touch loose or dangling wires or wires on the ground. Do not drive over wires. Instead, reach out to your utility company to make them aware of the issue. Do not pile debris on or near utility boxes or thruways. If trees and other debris have fallen on your private property, be sure to check with your insurance agent to determine if tree damage is covered by your policy.

As you clean up, be sure to keep in mind the following information:

Due to the magnitude of the damage from Ida, you can move debris from your private property to public rights-of-way for pick up and removal by local governments for a limited time. Debris removal from private property is generally the responsibility of the property owner, just as before the hurricane.

Follow guidance from your local officials when placing debris for collection. Separate debris into six categories when disposing along the curb:

o   Electronics, such as televisions, computers, or phones.

o   Large appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves, or dishwashers. Be sure to seal or secure the doors so that they are not accessible.

o   Hazardous waste, such as oil, batteries, pesticides, paint, or cleaning supplies. If you suspect that materials contain lead-based paint, keep them moist or place the materials in plastic bags so that the paint does not become airborne.

o   Vegetative debris, such as tree branches, leaves, or plants.

o   Construction debris, such as drywall, lumber, carpet, or furniture; and

o   Household garbage, discarded food, paper, or packaging.

Place debris away from trees, poles, or structures including fire hydrants and meters.

Remove all water-damaged materials from your home and place curbside for pickup.

Debris should not block the roadway.

Hurricane Ida left behind fallen trees, limbs, and material from damaged buildings on private and public property. Workers are picking up debris deposited on streets, highways, and curbsides.

The parishes eligible for debris removal include Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingstone, Orleans, Plaquemines, Point Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.

For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4611. Follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6.