Bay Area beaches pull out machinery to clean up storm debris

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Published  November 3, 2024 11:49am EST
FOX 13 News
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Machines collect sand debris after Hurricane Milton

FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers reports on how machines are being deployed to collect sand debris is the Tampa Bay area after Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Bay Area beaches are pairing technology and machinery to help recover from Hurricanes Milton and Helene. 

MMP Sitework normally works construction sites and gets them prepared for building things like high rises and overpasses, but when the hurricanes hit, they went into a different mode. 

"We came down to help out with disaster relief," shared Michael Phillips from MMP. 

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They didn't arrive empty-handed. 

They brought with them a special sand sifting machine to help restore the beach sand washed over the roadways and yards in Pinellas County. 

The machine cleans out the debris that would be harmful or dangerous to beachgoers’ toes and bare feet. 

"Underground pipes broken by the storm, rocks, papers, vegetation, it gets rid of all of it, so there's no other way to do it," admitted Phillips. "Once you crank it up and get it running, then it's up to the loader operator to keep feeding it material." 

The sand sifter literally cleans out the junk and leaves the sand behind.

Sand debris machines have been deployed to clean up the Tampa Bay area beaches since Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

"It goes fast—about 100 tons an hour," he said. It takes all the bad material out of it and throws it out the one side." 

The crew doesn't put through any sand that has been stained or exposed to oils or other hazardous fluids to ensure the cleaning process only deals with sand worth keeping.

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Once the sand is free and clear from debris, they load it back out on the beaches for front-end loaders to push back into place. 

"It's a great machine. It does a very good job," he shared.

For the eager beachgoer ready to get back out into the sun and surf, that's an understatement.

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