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Massive amounts of storm debris fills Volusia County neighborhood, anxious residents await pick up

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Published  October 13, 2022 7:39pm EDT
New Smyrna Beach
FOX 35 Orlando

Volusia County residents await trash, debris pick up after huge pile up

Families in Volusia County are growing anxious as they await trash and debris pick-up after having to throw their belongings out after Hurricane Ian passed through the state.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - Massive amounts of trash line one neighborhood in Volusia County following historic flooding from Tropical Storm Ian. 

People who live off Ellison Avenue in New Smyrna Beach are anxious to have their trash picked up. 

Jake and Brandy Grey LaFrance live on Lake Drive. Rain from Tropical Storm Ian caused nearby lakes to overflow leading to major flooding in their home. It left them with no choice but to throw nearly everything out. 

"Truthfully heart-wrenching. We have our daughter’s doll house that she got for Christmas. It’s completely water damaged," said Jake.

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Now with all the trash in place. The family and others living in the neighborhood want to know when it will get picked up. Brandy has been calling the county and city trying to find answers.

"And I made them look into our address to make sure to make sure you’re coming, and they said yeah that they’re definitely coming to this address but no idea when and that there are three trucks I guess for all of us," she said. 

Though their address comes up as being in New Smyrna Beach, much of the neighborhood is technically in unincorporated Volusia County. 

FOX 35 reached out to the county. A spokesperson said due to a high amount of debris, the cleanup process will take time. They point to historic damage, asking residents to be patient. 

The county released the following statement, saying pick-up is expected to begin next week.

"This debris in the Ellison Avenue and Lake Drive area is construction and demolition (C&D) debris, not household garbage. There is also an additional area in New Smyrna Beach with similar debris due to flooding. The county is prepared to start C&D debris removal in unincorporated New Smyrna Beach sometime next week. The contractor’s goal is to make a pass when most of the debris is out. Allowing one additional weekend of cleaning out debris will get us closer to removing a majority of the debris."