Communities continue post-Sandy recovery

WESTERLY, R.I. ( WPRI) -- It's been more than two weeks since Hurricane Sandy slammed the Northeast, and there's still a lot of work to be done in the state's hardest-hit communities.

Hundreds of volunteers have already made a huge dent in Misquamicut, cleaning up what Hurricane Sandy destroyed. Although, tons of sand and debris still litter the area, and volunteers have much more work ahead of them.

Broken televisions and mangled furniture can still be seen piled up along Atlantic Avenue. Even Sandy's Lighthouse was not immune to Sandy's wrath. In the past two weeks, about 700 volunteers have gone to work, cleaning up the Misquamicut area.

"There's been a tremendous community effort, and it's made a huge difference," said Bernie Beaudreau, Executive Director of Serve Rhode Island.

When Eyewitness News first talked with Beaudreau, he was hoping to organize about 200 volunteers to help with the cleanup efforts. After our story aired, 2,000 people have registered to help, and there's still plenty of work left to be done.

"We're going to need people to help sort through debris and help fix things up," said Beaudreau. "I think over time there are going to be some homeowners who need some small carpentry work done."

Local lawmakers are well aware that the cleanup will be costly. We obtained a copy of the letter than 13 senators, including RI Senators Reed and Whitehouse, sent to Pres. Obama, requesting additional federal disaster funding.

The letter says, in part, "given the enormity of the storm, and the fact that state and local governments are already facing tight budgets, we ask that you consider increasing the federal share for public assistance for affected states."

The next major volunteer cleanup effort in this area is scheduled for this weekend. For more information on how you can help, visit Serve Rhode Island's website.