Hurricane Ian: Leon, Tallahassee open sandbag sites, monitor major hurricane threat
As Hurricane Ian continues its path toward the Gulf of Mexico, Leon County and Tallahassee will open six sandbag locations for residents.
Further, now is the time to check your disaster preparedness plans, notify family and friends of your plans, and continue to monitor storm alerts.
Beginning Sunday, September 25 at noon, sandbags are available to the public at the following Leon County locations:
Leon County's Northeast Branch Library, 5513 Thomasville Road
Apalachee Regional Park (Solid Waste Management Facility), 7550 Apalachee Parkway
Fred George Park, 3043 Capital Circle NW
At the intersection of Oak Ridge Road at Ranchero Road.
Get prepared: Read Leon County's 2022 Disaster Survival Guide
The latest: Tropical Storm Ian expected to become a hurricane by Monday; much of FL Gulf Coast under threat
Leon County will staff these sites and sandbag fillers are now available to assist residents in quickly filling sandbags. Sand, bags and ties will be available for public use. Residents are asked to take no more than 15 bags so as to allow others to prepare.
The City of Tallahassee, meanwhile, sent a text alert to utility customers advising them to prepare as they monitor the storm. They also opened up two additional sandbag sites beginning at noon Sunday.
Sandbag sites are at
Mike Blankenship Skate Park (2909 Jackson Bluff Rd)
and the Northwood Centre (1940 N. Monroe).
Limit 25 bags per household. Bring shovel. Sites are self-service.
Property owners who have experienced flooding problems in the past can use sandbags to help divert stormwater from their property.
The City’s Step-by-Step PREP Guide, available at Talgov.com/PREP, provides a disaster supplies checklist, tips about hardening your home and information about vital City services, such as electric, water and solid waste.
City crews will continue to check areas of known flooding to remove obstructions and post warnings for drivers as needed. All motorists should use caution and not drive through flooded areas or around barricades.
Electric Utility crews are on standby and ready to be deployed, with extra staffing and mutual aid on call as needed. Should outages occur, customers can easily report them via the City’s free DigiTally app or via Talgov.com/Outage. A map showing general areas with reported outages is available on both the website and app. City utility customers can also call 850-891-4968 to report power outages; call wait times will be longer during major events.
Leon County advises residents to monitor the latest forecasts and be prepared to take the necessary precautions to protect life and property. The National Weather Service also warns that residents should not drive cars through flooded areas and that if they see flood waters to turn around and find another route.
Residents are also encouraged not to attempt to walk through floodwaters. Any and all flood water should be considered to be contaminated. Do not allow children to play in, wade through or swim in flood water.
Updates on official road closures can be found by downloading the Leon County Citizens Connect App in the Apple or Google Play store and the Leon County Emergency Information Portal (EIP) at www.LeonCountyFL.gov/ei/ .
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ian: Leon, Tallahassee open sandbag sites, monitor major hurricane threat
