According to a daily update from the Augusta mayor’s office, contractors removed 40,000 cubic yards of debris Tuesday and have removed 1.175 million cubic yards to date. The city surpassed 1 million cubic yards of debris on Monday.
Work continues on the Augusta Canal, where eight leaning trees were removed Tuesday and 14 removed Monday. Ten submerged trees have been identified to be removed, and officials have begun creating a “dam reconstruction strategy” for repairs.
As of Monday, all traffic signals on Washington Road and Riverwatch Parkway have been repaired, while crews continue to work on timing of the lights.
The Disaster Recovery Center processed 148 applicants Monday, and FEMA had processed 64,683 applications for assistance from Augusta.
The volunteer organization Team Rubicon has extended its stay until Nov. 24. As of Monday, volunteers had completed 121 work site orders and surveyed 132 requests which will be performed. Another 69 requests were awaiting a survey.
Columbia County cleanup
In Columbia County, according to a daily report for Nov. 12 from DebrisTech posted by Chairman Doug Duncan on Facebook, since the start of the clean-up, a total of 928,000 cubic yards of debris or 17,303 vegetative loads have been picked up from the right of way in Columbia County.
“In comparison to the ice storm 10 years ago, the total debris removal was just over 500,000 yd.³ (a cubic yard is the size of a washing machine),” Duncan said in the Facebook post.
On Tuesday, 25,188.3 cubic yards of debris were picked up, with the average daily production being 23,208.8 cubic yards.
During a committee meeting on Tuesday, County Manager Scott Johnson told commissioners the county has spent $7 million so far in debris cleanup. But, that money should be reimbursable by FEMA.
Managing editor Stephanie Hill contributed to this story.
