GUAM, USA — Debris cleanup of public schools in Guam is complete with all 41 schools cleared several days ahead of the deadline of Aug. 8. The schools were prioritized for debris pickup to meet the Aug. 9 beginning of the school year.
Southern High School in the village of Santa Rita on the south end of the island was the first school to have debris hauled off July 25. The program to remove the Typhoon Mawar debris from the schools is a collaboration between USACE, FEMA and the office of the Governor of Guam.
“This is one of three missions under FEMA itself but at the request of the Government of Guam and the governor herself and we are happy to be here to support and one of those is this debris mission,” said USACE Lt. Col. Chelsey O’Nan, the senior officer on the ground for the response.
Dale Alvarez the Mayor of Santa Rita was at the school for the first debris removal and said the assistance provided by the program is very meaningful.
“The cleanup means a lot to me. I mean I’m getting big help, especially with the debris,” said Alvarez. "The kids have to go back to school. Any assistance they need from me I would be happy to assist.”
In preparation for the program the schools began sorting eligible Mawar-related debris into three categories: vegetation, construction and demolition (C&D), and white goods (appliances with freon) and placing it within 10 feet of the roadside. To speed the process the Guam Army National Guard assisted with bringing the material to the right of way for pickup.
“The best way for us to get this material was for it to be curbside so thanks to the National Guard for everything they did to get us to the point where we could begin picking up the debris,” said USACE Debris Mission Manager Todd Turner. “We had three different debris streams, first the vegetative, then the C&D, and then the white goods.”
Now that the schools are complete the debris mission can put all its efforts into picking up eligible debris placed in the ROW in residential areas. The contractors have debris refinement crews working in the villages to check for ineligible materials in the piles. The debris streams will be picked up in the same order as they were from the schools.
Only storm related debris from public schools will be picked up in this phase of the debris mission.
The goal of the combined Federal response is to return Guam to pre-disaster condition and return normalcy, and part of that is getting children back into their schools.
“As the father of a 13-year-old daughter I understand the importance of kids being back in school, I’m excited for the kids of Guam to get back in school,” said Turner.
| Date Taken: |
08.03.2023 |
| Date Posted: |
08.22.2023 19:33 |
| Story ID: |
450576 |
| Location: |
SANTA RITA, GU |
| Web Views: |
60 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Public school Mawar related debris removal complete on Guam, by Sara Goodeyon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
