LaPlace, La.—During a break in the rains heavy equipment focused on mountains of debris in the Cambridge Subdivision in Saint John Parish.
But for many Hurricane Isaac flood victims Monday's removal of the decaying storm debris was akin to chipping away at Mount Everest with an ice pick.
"I really liked how they responded with all the buses and the boats for the people, but now it looks like since the storm has gone. Where are the garbage trucks?" asked resident Tommy Carter.
He and some others in the neighborhood fear the unsightly mounds will become havens for snakes and rodents.
"I think too certain toxins because I got really sick the first few days after you know with the water and all," continued Carter.
Not far away in the Indigo Estates Subdivision numerous piles of ripped out drywall, insulation and damp furnishings could be seen on curb sides.
"I would like to see them pick it up quicker. I haven't seen hardly any trucks in this area picking up debris," said homeowner Allan Hamilton.
Parish leaders do not dispute that the rotting debris is potentially unhealthy.
"We have a significant health and safety concern," said St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom during an afternoon news conference on the storm recovery.
Robottom and her staff want to get the debris scooped up as soon as possible.
Additional trucks have been put on the streets to collect the storm waste, but officials said getting a staging area to dump all the debris is critical to speeding up the collection process.
"The staging area is definitely going to cut into our time," said St. John Public Works Department Director Brian Nunes.
Some residents have resorted to remaining in their un-gutted homes for fear they might not get their due from insurers. Parish leaders urge against that.
"They do not have to live in homes that have not been gutted or cleaned. They need to have very good photos, pictures and evidence of what they had in it, they should not be living in unsafe conditions," Robottom said.
She said they continue to work with federal agencies to meet temporary housing needs, but unlike after Hurricane Katrina, travel trailers are not being provided.
"The parish does not provide travel trailers, FEMA does not provide travel trailers," Robottom said.
Robottom said rental assistance flood victims are receiving can be used for individuals to rent their own trailers, apartments or houses.
In the meantime, residents fed up with all of the debris are trying to discourage strangers from rummaging through what they put on the curb.
"Especially you know you put your personal belongings out there and even if they are trash if some body's coming and picking them up and hauling them off, you know it's hurtful to people I think," said Hamilton.
Parish leaders said hundreds of volunteers are available to assist residents in gutting their homes.
For information, call 985-359-0254.
