BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. () — Bulloch County leaders are still working to recover after a series of unprecedented storms and said that construction materials and labor are becoming more expensive and harder to find.

“We’re talking about possibly a million dollars in stone and pipe and things like that,” said Bulloch County Public Works Director Dink Butler.

Between Hurricane Idalia, Tropical Storm Helene and Tropical Storm Debby, Butler estimates it will cost around $38 million to fully clean up and repair the damage.

“It’s been a challenging year and a half since Idalia,” Butler said. “We never fully recovered from Idalia before we had Tropical Storm Debby.”

The county has hired contractors to assist with hauling construction materials for repairs and debris for cleanup, as Butler said Public Works alone would not have been able to handle the job. He said they have roughly 65% of their department’s jobs filled.

“It was very challenging, has been and continues to be challenging to get that assistance because there is so much construction development going on, whether it’s industrial, whether it’s residential development,” Butler said.

The demand for construction all around the area has also driven up costs. The county is paying $105 per hour to rent large trucks for the cleanup effort.

While Butler hopes FEMA will reimburse the county for the expenses, officials still have to pay upfront and keep detailed records of how the money is spent.

“It’s recorded either by truckload, by hour of labor, by hour of equipment operation. It’s all tracked,” he said.

Bulloch County officials have been told by contractors that debris cleanup could be finished by March 24, which aligns with FEMA’s 180-day deadline.