Punta Gorda battles debris after dual hurricanes

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It’s been hard for some to move forward after facing Hurricane Milton; every time they step outside their homes, they’re greeted by piles of debris.

Those debris piles comprise items that were once a part of their everyday lives.

Clean-ups are underway, but it will take some time before it’s cleared away.

WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone went to the Historic District in downtown Punta Gorda to speak with neighbors and find out what they lost in the storm.

For many, the toughest part has been seeing parts of their home left sitting in disarray.

One man who lives in the area said his home took on two feet of water during Helene, and with Milton, it is now missing four feet of drywall.

He said they’re blessed because he knows others have lost everything, but it’s still hard to see your life in pieces like this.

“You know, not only is it concern for life, I guess you could say it’s just, you know, a concern for all these homes,” said Alexander Guzman, a resident of Punta Gorda.

Reflections of homes on the curb after back-to-back hurricanes.

Appliances, furniture and even a bible. Streets in southwest Florida are lined with debris, but not all of it is from Milton. Some of it has been left behind from Helene.

“They didn’t clean that until, I guess, they started after Milton hit them briefly, and then, I mean, it’s just piled up from there,” said Guzman. “The wind from Milton and everything like that had all the stuff flying and, you know, it’s really just, I guess, piled up more and more debris.”

Streets like theirs may show damage now, but soon we’ll see recovery.

The county is working to remove everything, and you can track their work on their debris removal dashboard on their website here.

“We’re just trying to recover, I guess, get back to a normal life, in a sense, and then, you know, just kind of moving forward. And, like I said, one foot in front of the other,” said Guzman.

WINK News has reached out to the county for more information on their debris removal dashboard.

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