Hurricane season runs June to November, and every few years the Lowcountry gets the real thing. Ian in 2022 flooded streets from downtown to Edisto; the king tides flood the same low streets every fall. The order of operations is the same.
First hour
- Photograph all of it before anything moves; the claim needs it.
- Downed lines: utility first.
- Tree on the house: tree crew first.
What the city and county pick up
After a declared storm the city and Charleston County run debris pickups for vegetation stacked at the curb, on a schedule that can take weeks across the islands. Ruined furniture, flooring and drywall after a flood are usually collected separately or not at all, depending on the declaration.
What a crew does
Hauls the flood-damaged contents, the fence panels, the roofing and the dock pieces the pickups will not take, from the peninsula streets and the island roads where a big truck does not fit, the same week.
Useful links
- City of Charleston – garbage and bulky-item collection schedules, storm debris pickups
- Charleston County Environmental Management – convenience centers, hazardous-waste drop-off, what the county takes
Questions on this
Will the county take flood-damaged furniture?
Depends on the declaration; often it is a separate pickup or none. A crew takes it either way.
What does hurricane debris removal cost in Charleston?
Priced by the truck: $225 to $325 for a quarter load, $375 to $500 for a half, $625 to $800 for a full truck, with the cutting and loading in the figure. Flood-damaged contents are priced the same way, by the truck.
Will the county pick up my dock pieces and fence panels?
Usually not; declared-storm pickups take vegetation. Fencing, roofing and dock lumber are a crew job.
Who removes a tree that fell on the house in the Lowcountry?
A tree crew, first. We haul what is left afterwards, from the peninsula to the islands.