DeKalb CEO: Focus now on families, businesses affected by Irma

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Tropical Storm Irma hit DeKalb County hard last week and now the county is assessing the cost of the destruction the storm left behind.

Crews still have a few trees left to remove, but all roads are open in DeKalb County and the power is back on.

County CEO Michael Thurmond told Channel 2’s Sophia Choi, now it's time to help families and businesses.

DeKalb County resident Carlos del Rio and his wife told Choi that they are exhausted in more ways than one.

“It’s emotionally draining,” del Rio said.

The couple lost two-thirds of their home on Massey Lane in Decatur when a big tree came crashing down.

Now, they have some advice for other homeowners before the next storm hits: make a video.

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Right now, I’m going around collecting pictures of the holidays of what this looked like. But I wish I had a video of this, what was in this room, and this looked like this,” del Rio told Choi.

Thurmond told Choi on Monday that the county is still assessing the damage after Irma, but say the cleanup was costly, especially in terms of overtime for police, fire and crews that cleared 500 tons of debris.

“Just think about the manpower and woman power to work 7 days a week,” Thurmond said.

The roads are now open in DeKalb and the power is back on for almost everyone. But for families like the del Rios, the work is just beginning.

Choi and her photographer drove around several parts of DeKalb County on Monday and found a lot of damage at homes and businesses.

Starting Tuesday, the CEO said crews will head out to help them.

“These individuals will be able to qualify for individual assistance through the FEMA program,” Thurmond said.

Families like the del Rios said they expect it will take at least 6 months of rebuild.

“It’s the end of an era,” del Rio told Choi.

Thurmond said each city in DeKalb County is compiling a list of costs from Irma. Once Thurmond has those, he said he'll submit it, along with the county's cost, to FEMA for reimbursement.

Cleanup Continues

Since last Monday, public works crews in Clarkston have been working from dawn till past dusk, working to clean up the mess left by Irma.

"A lot of trees fell in the neighborhood and a lot of cleanup has been going on, so I thought they would be overwhelmed with all the cleanup," homeowner Anstey Bates told Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach.

Public works crews told Gehlbach that a weekend of nice weather let people get out into their yards.

They want many communities to remember yard debris needs to either be in a can or bundled at the curb, with a maximum of four feet.

Anything larger makes it harder for these workers to lift and toss into the truck.

"I was somewhat concerned as to when they would pick it up, but they just delivered, came out today which we're happy about," Bates said.

These same workers will run routes hauling off debris Tuesday and beyond if needed, but they hope to be back to normal Friday pickups by the end of this week.

Cox Media Group