Crew says cleanup could take a year in Bladen County town

KELLY, NC (WWAY) — Bladen County residents are just starting the clean up process from Hurricane Florence.

The Town of Kelly is just one of the towns that got hit the hardest. Kelly got battered by Florence from flooding to destroyed homes.

Some of the main roads in the town were completely washed out. One man, who lives nearby and works for the Camp Clearwater clean up crew, says the conditions are so bad that some residents cannot even get to the grocery store or work.

“Most of the grocery stores, how to get here and stuff, most of the roads are closed,” John Portillo said. “The road in Garland is closed for six months to a year still, for the bridge. So that’s groceries, getting to work, having jobs, having places to live at. I mean, that’s the worst thing right there. Families not having a place to live at.”

Portillo says they are making progress with debris removal, but some of the damage could take a whole year to clean up.