this way. there s a couple of structures standing there. but for the most part, everything has been wiped away. most of the homes look a lot like this. there are large debris piles, we cannot show you because it s too dark, completely blocking the road, you have to go around shops to get to 98. it s an absolute mess. it s shocking that anyone that was in this town survived. and they have had no reports of any injuries or any deaths at this point in mexico beach. and it s not clear how many stayed. there s been 165 members of search and rescue from both florida and louisiana who are trying get through homes here. but, it is difficult. they are trying to start with those that they knee somebody was there. sometimes they get to the address and there s nothing left and they have to piece together where is that person who said that they were staying. don? miguel, thank you very much. please be safe out there. i want to bring in now, gerald
today s sunset party. we came down here a day or two after the storm. it was impassable, so many downed power lines. we pulled up into this very wharf and the first request for humanitarian aid we received was when a woman asked if we had a bottle opener. if that doesn t say everything about key west i don t know what does. let s bring in one of the county commissioners who can give us a better status report. this is one of five county commissioners. happy new year to you. happy new year to everybody watching and enjoying key west. this place was back to normal almost immediately after the storm. it took a little while. we are pretty much back to normal in key west right now. let me ask you about the other keys. been to big pine and some of the places where you see debris piles. how would you grade the recovery so far? i know it is hard to say this
at least see what many neighborhoods throughout puerto rico look like a month after maria swept through the region here. debris piles. this isn t necessarily garage. this are people s belongings, livelihoods that have been growing over the last five weeks or so until today. you may be able to make out some of that heavy equipment, the noise you may be able to make out is some of the heavy machinery moving back and forth as it essentially removes all of this stuff to take it out to a landfill. it s a little more complicated than that. there is some method to this. the army corps of engineers has hieled a local contractor to literally sift through every bit of debris and pick up the toxic materials, for example, electronics, payments, thinner, et cetera. they leave that behind. as far as the organics, the furniture, all of that gets hauled off? why, debris attracts mesquiosqu and rodents. they attract disease. disease would make a situation for people on this battered
cleared up as the island continues to struggle to recover. when there s a build-up of waste, of trash, sometimes hazardous materials, of course, the biggest concern is it makes people sick. it spreads viruses and illnesses. how is that being combatted or what is being done to help people stay well in these kind of conditions? reporter: well, clearing up this debris is obviously going to be number one here. the faster they can get rid of the garbage and they re able to eliminate at least part of the risk because the debris piles bring rodents and mosquitoes. they then breed disease, and that s the last thing this island needs right now as it struggles to recover. the other thing, too, is what to do with so much garbage. i spoke to local environmentalists who estimate roughly 8,500 tons of garbage are produced by puerto ricos on
166 special debris management sites inside the disaster zones. because while there is a push to get the piles and piles of debris that litter neighborhoods, the push is to get them out as quickly as possible, groups like the epa have teams on the ground making sure it s all done safely. trying to ensure hazardous materials are also properly taken care of. but patience is wearing thin in some neighborhoods. some three weeks after the storm. residents say not only have they waited forever for those trash trucks to arrive, but once they do, there s a long list of rules they have to follow. the rock and the hard place is out there and we can t get it out there. they cleaned up this, but only pick up ten feet and that s it. and then the home owner s responsible for getting it pushed out there. how do you do that? home owners are frustrated because many of those debris piles are still soaking wet,