Enough flood debris collected in Travis County to stretch from downtown Austin to Cedar Park
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Communities across Texas are still in the process of recovering from devastating flash flooding that hit the weekend of July 4. Part of that process includes cleaning up debris left behind from the flooding.
Debris left behind by natural disasters can pose health and safety risks. It can block roads and waterways or obstruct power lines, and it can contain potentially hazardous and/or toxic material.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cleanup activities after disasters can come with threats, like exposure to hazards from leaking gas lines or carbon monoxide poisoning. For flood cleanup specifically, "failure to remove contaminated materials and reduce moisture and humidity may present serious long-term health risks from micro-organisms, such as bacteria and mold," per the EPA.
Post-storm debris is something Central Texans are all too familiar with. After a historic winter storm in 2023, enough debris was collected in the greater Austin area to fill Q2 Stadium more than four times.
After a microburst ripped through parts of Austin in late May, Austin 3-1-1 got nearly 2,000 service requests related to debris or trees in roadways, KXAN previously reported.
Texas' most recent disaster -- the Independence Day floods, wrought even more damage in the form of storm debris.
According to Travis County Emergency Services, Travis County has removed 47,403 cubic yards of debris from flood-impacted areas as of Thursday.
That's about 3,951 dump trucks worth of debris, and laid out, it would stretch about 22 miles, according to a social media post from Travis County Emergency Services.
That'd stretch longer than the distance between downtown Austin and Cedar Park.
Certain roads in Travis County are receiving free curbside debris pickup services following the floods, according to the Travis County Office of Emergency Management. Those roads are listed on the office's website, along with other post-storm resources.