Sandbag sites will be open again Wednesday as Polk County residents brace for heavy rain and winds when Tropical Storm Helene hits Thursday.
“Just getting ready before, I don’t like to leave things for the last second. Be prepared, get ready for anything that might happen,” said Pedro Rios, of Mulberry, who picked up ten sandbags Tuesday at a site in Mulberry to protect his back porch.
Sandbag site locations are:
- Mulberry/South Lakeland – Loyce E. Harpe Park, 500 W. Carter Road, Mulberry
- Lakeland – 8970 N. Campbell Road, Lakeland
- Fort Meade – 1061 NE 9th St., Fort Meade
- Frostproof – 350 County Road 630A, Frostproof
- Auburndale – 1701 Holt Road, Auburndale
- Dundee – 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW, Dundee
- Poinciana Park – 5109 Allegheny Road, Kissimmee 34759
They are open 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
Residents must show an ID to prove Polk County residency and are given ten pre-filled sandbags each.
“[The sandbags] were going be so useful to me that I came prepared thinking I had to lift them myself so when I saw the gentlemen, I’m like ‘angels in green vests,’” Linda Crutchfield of Mulberry said.
Polk County’s emergency management Director Paul Womble told News Channel 8 it is important for residents to monitor the storm and its track closely.
Right now, the county is bracing for tropical storm conditions, which could include strong winds and 3 to 6 inches of rain.
The Peace River, Womble said, is high but not at flood stage.
“The grounds are kind of saturated so if we get a lot of rain, which we do have some issues with that, 2 or 3 inches in an hour, 4 inches in an hour, it causes some flooding,” said Eddie Benton, a site manager with Polk County roads and drainage division.
Benton expected to give out 5,000 bags from the Mulberry site alone on Tuesday.