Hurricane Irma Debris Collection

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Charlotte County Public Works Department was tasked with clearing tons of debris from more than 2,000 miles of roads, rights-of-way and drainage systems following the Sept. 10 landfall of Hurricane Irma. Due to the broad impact Irma had in Florida and ongoing recovery operations in Texas following Hurricane Harvey, the county’s contracted debris collection company was not able to deploy personnel and equipment to fulfill its contract. The Public Works Department’s Maintenance and Operations Division performed its debris collection work in three phases: emergency clearing of major roads for public safety and utility company vehicles; clearing neighborhood roads; and collecting debris from county rights-of-way. To meet Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements for debris collection data – to ensure the county would be reimbursed for costs incurred – the Public Works Department had to adapt a surveying application called Survey123 to gather debris data. The Survey123 tool allowed data, including photographs of debris piles, to be captured using smartphones, laptops or iPads and transmitted to the ArcGIS geographic information system platform. The application identified each debris pile as a point on a map with a timestamp and GPS location. The application exceeded what FEMA required for storm debris collection data management. It also significantly improved efficiency and allowed the department to disseminate information internally and to the public via the county website and social media portals.