After Hurricane Beryl, Houston Tracks Debris Collection With Public Map

After Hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc in Houston earlier this month, the city’s Solid Waste Management Department released an interactive storm debris collection tracker that allows residents to see the progress of debris pickup.

The tracker shows areas where waste management trucks are removing debris from sidewalks and roads. The color-coded map breaks down hauling progress by collection area, and users can search by address. The tracker is updated daily at 8 p.m.

As of Tuesday, the map shows that a first round of debris collections is still underway in most areas. Once the first round of storm debris collections is complete, the waste management agency plans to begin a second round.

Local reports Monday said large piles of storm debris have remained on many residential streets since Hurricane Beryl ripped through the city on July 8, making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of up to 95 mph. On May 16, the city suffered damage from a rare derecho storm that caused between $5 billion and $8 billion in damage and killed eight people.

In a statement, the Houston Department of Solid Waste Management said the combined impact of this year’s natural disasters in the Houston area is estimated to have produced more than 4.5 million cubic yards of storm debris. Before Hurricane Beryl, the department said it had already removed more than 1.7 million cubic yards of debris created by the derecho storm in May.

Over the next few months, the city said it will ramp up debris removal operations in city neighborhoods, using all of its available resources as well as contracted debris removal companies.