Orlo Vista residents still awaiting debris cleanup, as trash continues to pileup

Florida neighborhood hit hard by Ian continues to wait for debris pickup as trash piles up

Residents in the Orlo Vista neighborhood say debris is flooding the neighborhood as trash continues to pile up

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Almost one month since Hurricane Ian, people in Orlo Vista are still cleaning up debris.

"The day I opened the door, it was to the waist. The water rushed in so fast. Like I said, I tried to get into my daughter’s car, and it flooded out. I got in my truck and made it right out the street, and it flooded out. It stalled out," Wanozerra Thomas, an Orlo Vista resident, said.

That was almost one month ago, when Thomas said her house and many others in Orlo Vista were flooded out during Hurricane Ian. She said she spends every night since then working to clear out her home, but she’s made little progress.

"I’m pretty much sorting through the stuff I can. I’m trying to get it organized and trying to get my head right," she said.

Clothes and trash fill her yard.

Fox 35 News was there two weeks ago. Video from then shows significantly more debris. Thomas said crews have come to clean a lot up, but now she said they haven’t been there since last week.

The debris is a familiar sight, with many of her neighbors dealing with the same on Hope Circle in Orlando. Mattresses, dressers, and trash are still waiting to be picked up.

"There’s a lot of people who don’t even live over here who come and sightsee because of all this debris. It’s overwhelming. It really is," Thomas said.

Thomas said she has not been able to stay in her house for the last month. Many other people on her street are in the same situation.