Impact
Work History
Hurricane Ida
August 2021 - current
August 29th, 2021 was a date many Louisianans will never forget. When Category 4 storm Hurricane Ida made landfall, it packed 150mph winds and caused a swath of destruction over the southeastern potion of Louisiana’s coastline and inland areas. One anemometer in Port Fourchon measured a wind gust of 172mph as the eyewall came ashore. The aftermath left the entire city of New Orleans without power and spread over 15,000,000 cubic yards of debris across 18 parishes. In a 2 month span between Labor Day and Halloween of 2021, RPF cleaned up over 10,000,000 cubic yards of various types of debris, simultaneously managed over 30 debris management sites, and quickly had Louisiana streets accessible from Grand Isle to Baton Rouge. The numbers below are as of October 2022:
Vegetative Debris - 12,000,000 cubic yards
C&D - 4,300,000 cubic yards
Leaners - 23,000 units
Hangers - 186,000 units
Stumps - 400 units
Sand - 100,000 cubic yards
Marine Debris - 385,000 cubic yards
Levee Debris - 40,000 cubic yards
Mud - 41,000 cubic yards
White Goods - 2,500 units
Mayfield, Kentucky Tornado
December 10th, 2021
An evening tornado outbreak started in northeast Missouri and tore through the Kentucky Bend producing multiple long-track violent tornados. One of the most violent of those had Mayfield, KY in its path. In the aftermath of the storm, many homes were destroyed, lives lost, and a community changed forever. RPF was called to action and within a few months, RPF laid the foundation for Mayfield to rebuild. Over that time span, RPF managed all of the debris in the city:
Vegetative Debris - 219,302 cubic yards
C&D - 256,165 cubic yards
Concrete - 66,136 cubic yards
Leaners - 695 units
Hangers - 252 units
Stumps - 35 units
White Goods - 84 units
2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season
August 2020 - November 2021
The record breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season churned 30 named storms with 12 of them making landfall in the US. RPF managed the removal of over 5,000,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris across 5 states. Additionally, we removed 160,000 cubic yards of C&D debris and safely disposed of 200,000 leaners, hangers, & stumps at our various DMS sites. 5,000 cubic yards of marine debris were removed from Louisiana waterways and 138,000 cubic yards of sand was processed on Alabama coastal right-of-ways.
Over a 4 month span and in 5 different states, RPF responded to 6 named storms. During the months of October through December, we simultaneously operated 35 different contracts and we continue to assist some of the affected communities today. A summary of the debris management in each state is below:
Alabama - Hurricanes Sally & Zeta
Vegetative Debris - 1,700,000 cubic yards
C&D - 106,000 cubic yards
Leaners & Hangers - 128,000 units
Sand - 138,000 cubic yards
Florida - Hurricane Sally
Vegetative Debris - 75,000 cubic yards
C&D - 9,000 cubic yards
Louisiana - Hurricanes Laura, Delta & Zeta
Vegetative Debris - 3,200,000 cubic yards
C&D - 40,000 cubic yards
Leaners & Hangers - 65,000 units
Marine Debris - 5,000 cubic yards
North Carolina - Hurricane Isaias
Vegetative Debris - 230,000 cubic yards
Texas - Hurricane Hanna
C&D - 5,000 cubic yards
California Electrical Line Clearance Project
June 2019
In the wake of devastating wildfires engulfing hundreds of thousands of acres in the Sacramento and Napa Valley’s of Northern California, RPF was moved to solve a crisis. Crews working around the clock have cleared hazardous electrical lines from overgrown vegetation, provided inspection information on dangerous electrical circuits, and are constantly called on for urgent response regarding emergency line clearance. Our safe, practical, and efficient foremen and crews have cleared the way for less power shutoffs in the region providing more safety and satisfaction to the customers of the utility company.
Hurricane Michael
October 2018
In the late morning hours of October 10th, 2018, Hurricane Michael, the 4th strongest hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, moved ashore on the Florida Panhandle with devastating impacts. As one of the biggest storms to ever strike Florida, Hurricane Michael left a destructive path of debris halting many coastal communities along the Gulf. RPF responded to the region before landfall and began cleanup within 24 hours of dissipation. Below are the final numbers:
Vegetative/C&D Debris - 5,667,774 cubic yards
Hangers - 32,827 units
Leaners - 24,667 units
Stumps - 3,006 units
Hurricane Florence
September 2018
Hurricane Florence hit Wilmington North Carolina with 27 inches of rain and winds sustaining at 130 mph. Virtually all coastal roads going inland from Wilmington to Morehead city were flooded and unable to be traveled. RPF was immediately on the ground working towards getting roads re-opened and debris moved. Cleaning up over 1,380,000 cu. yards of debris and removing over 15,000 hazardous trees, RPF worked tirelessly alongside county officials to recover Surf City and the City of Wilmington.
Houston Waterways
September 2019
With four major bayous passing through the heart of the city, Houston’s waterways have been overwhelmed with storm debris after consecutive landfalls by tropical storms and hurricanes. RPF answered the call to coordinate a marine debris and dredging project spanning hundreds of miles of canals and waterways. Currently, RPF has crews removing and dredging in and around Houston until the bayous and canals are clear of impediments.
Hurricane Irma
September 2018
After Hurricane Irma, an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane, made landfall twice on the southwest tip of Florida, RPF assisted in the cleanup of over 3000 cu. yards of marine debris from several affected canals. Some items removed from the waterways included hazardous waste, construction and demolition debris, propane tanks, appliances, electronic waste, docks, vehicles, seawalls and houses or portions of houses. These items constituted a risk to the livelihood of Floridians left in the wake of the storm and were safely removed and properly disposed.
Hurricane Harvey
August 2017
As Hurricane Harvey hit the City of Houston, RPF had crews on the ground combating the 19 trillion gallons of rainwater that had impacted the city and surrounding areas. We worked around the clock to restore order. In the aftermath of the storm FEMA designated 41 counties as federal disaster areas and RPF operated 16 DMS sites to manage and dispose of debris. RPF is still working with the City of Houston to clean up the waterways.
Hurricane Ike
Since our launch, RPF Emergency Services has collected over 150 million cubic yards of debris and established industry benchmarks for debris recycling and collection efficiencies. We recycled 100% of the debris we collected in Houston, TX in the wake of Hurricane Ike, which amounted to over 5 million cubic yards. We also set an industry record for the most debris collected in a single day in 2008 and according to FEMA officials, the record still stands today.
