A major clean-up operation is underway across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole following Storm Eunice.
Seafront teams are working to clear the promenade of thousands of tonnes of sand whilst park teams are clearing over 150 trees and hanging branches.
Social services are also working with partners to reach vulnerable residents affected by power cuts.
Bin collection teams are working hard to address the disruption to refuse and recycling collections on Friday, with waste services collecting extra bags this coming weekend to reduce the backlog.
Chris Saunders, from Incident Command and Director of Destination and Culture at BCP Council said: “With Storm Franklin continuing to sweep through the area, recovery operations are taking place alongside work to minimise disruption from the ongoing strong winds.
“Our teams are still working through a number of storm-related incidents so we would ask for patience as we deal with the backlog.”
“Some homes are still without power and we have council teams going out today to check on any vulnerable residents.
“I’d like to ask residents to please continue to check on any elderly or vulnerable neighbours who may be affected by the power cut and call the emergency duty teams for any assistance.
“Our teams have been doing a fantastic job going over and above to clear reports of trees fallen, clearing the road network and the seafront. However, it’s not over, there’s still more work to do as the winds continue.”
Schools were advised to close on Friday with most shutting their doors and switching to remote learning. A handful of schools, mostly special schools, remained open.
In one incident, the roof of Hillview Primary School in Ensbury Park came off and landed where children enter the school. Fortunately, no children were in attendance, and no one was injured. The school will reopen after the half-term break.
Andrew Brown, Operations Manager, Seafront Operations, said there was fortunately little material damage to seafront buildings and assets along the bay from Sandbanks to Southbourne and further.
Access to the beach was closed in some areas, except for emergency access due to the sand build up and one car park between the Piers, Undercliff Drive, was also closed.
He said: “Our buildings were relatively unscathed, fortunately. However, we now have thousands of tonnes of sand blown up onto the promenade, which is the main problem we are dealing with now.
“Access to the promenade is limited because of the sand, apart for emergency access. We have got six full time staff and an additional 15 casual staff working almost overnight to clear the sand.
“The tractors are out from 4am in the morning onwards with other teams moving in with wheelbarrows and shovels to remove any debris and from first light, about 6.30am, to reduce the volume.
“I’d like to say a huge thanks to the team for stepping up over the weekend. Thanks also to the public who listened to our safety advice and didn’t travel to the coast.”
Mike Parkinson, Parks and Grounds Maintenance Manager, said his team dealt with 140 reports of fallen trees on Friday and his teams are continuing to respond to further reports of damage today (Monday).
He said: “Our teams and contractors are continuing to clear these fallen trees and branches from roads, footpaths and open spaces, as well as timber and tree debris that was cleared off roads onto adjacent verges during Friday.
“We are confident that all roads are now clear, however the clean-up and recovery from Storm Eunice will take most of this week.”
All bin collections suspended for safety reasons on Friday will be collected Saturday and Sunday 26 and 27 February.
Residents are asked to put their bins out by 6am on Saturday and two bags of additional side waste will be taken where necessary. Alternatively, residents can take additional waste to one of the recycling centres.
For other waste collection bins affected by suspension of services due to the storm, the council is asking households to manage their food, green and recyclable waste until their next scheduled collection.