‘Better safe than sorry’: Residents flock to sandbag locations in Marion County

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — As Tropical Storm Helene inches closer to the west coast of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis enacted a state of emergency for all counties in Central Florida.

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Marion County is among the counties facing the highest threat from Helene, so officials are working to ensure residents are ready for the storm.

Sandbag locations are scattered throughout the county.

Read: See where you can get sandbags in Central Florida

“We need to be prepared because when a storm hits, we don’t want to be unprepared,” said long-time Marion County resident Carolyn Schuman.

County officials are also setting up their emergency teams. Multiple agencies - law enforcement, first responders, public works - are all involved in the storm preps.

Read: Tropical Storm Helene: These schools announce closures

“The Sheriff’s Office works together with our Division of Emergency Management, Marion County Public Schools, as well as the county roads department, and multiple different county organizations,” said Zach Moore, Public Information Officer in Marion County. “We’re in contact with local power companies, so SEMCO, Duke, they all have individuals who respond to the Florida Department of Transportation; we’re all in the same room. We’re all communicating.”

The hope is to get ahead of the weather. The storm is once again expected to make landfall near the Big Bend region, in the North portion of the state, similar to the path Hurricane Debby followed back in August.

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“During Debby, we saw a lot of rainfall and some wind damage from trees down and roadways that were blocked off and things like that,” said Moore. “In the past few weeks, even leading up to this storm now, we’ve had a lot of rainfall, so the ground, just like with Debbie, is saturated already. So we do expect the areas that are prone to flooding that will likely flood with this storm as well, even if we’re not in the direct path.”

Sandbag distribution locations in Marion County will remain open until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and each vehicle can take up to ten sandbags.

• Tuscawilla Park (Reilly Arts Center), 800 NE Sanchez Ave, Ocala, FL
• Ed Crosky Recreation Center, 1510 NW Fourth St., Ocala, FL
• Dunnellon Public Works, 11924 Bostick St., Dunnellon, Florida 34431
• Wrigley Field, 405 County Rd East 316, Citra, FL
• John Van Fleet Sports Complex, 14445 NE 14th Street Road, Ocala, FL
• Belleview Sports Complex, 6501 SE 107th St, Belleview, FL
• Martel Recycling Center, 296 SW 67th Ave Rd, Ocala, FL
• Marion Oaks, 294 Marion Oaks Lane, Ocala, FL (Behind the Community Center)

Shelter Information:

• Westport High School, 3733 SW 80th Ave, Ocala, will serve as a Special Needs Shelter.

·      Citizens with special needs can check into the shelter at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

·      The shelter will open to the public at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Emergency Management Citizen’s Information Line: The Marion County Emergency Management Citizen’s Information Line will be operational from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and will reopen at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25. For non-emergency inquiries related to the weather event, please call 352-369-7500. For emergencies, always dial 911.

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