Miami Beach officials are handing out free sandbags to residents to help them prepare for hurricane season. FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell spoke to Miami Beach Fire Department’s fire chief Digna Abello about hurricane preparedness and how to properly use sandbags. July 26, 2024.
To prepare the public for hurricane season, Miami Beach officials provided four free sandbags per resident at two distribution sites this week.
Digna Abella, fire chief of the Miami Beach Fire Department, stressed the importance of having essentials on hand ahead of the storms.
“The last thing you want to do is get caught up in that rush of not being prepared for anything that can just happen, whether it’s the flood today, the rain tomorrow, or the hurricane that (could) be coming on its way,” Abella told FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell.
In addition to providing sandbags, officials also educated the public about how to properly use them.
FILE: A man places sandbags next to a structure.
(ULISES RUIZ / AFP / Getty Images)
Abella noted that sandbags should be stacked as tightly as possible by alternating the seams of the bags, likening the method to the way bricks are laid on a house.
She also cautioned residents against reusing sandbags that have already become wet during a storm. This is because they end up absorbing contaminants from the water.
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Residents were informed about how to dispose of used sandbags. Rather than empty the sand onto the beach, they must bring the sandbags to their local drop-off center to discard them.
Abella also had a word of caution for new Florida residents.
FILE: A woman places sandbags in front of a door.
(Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post / Getty Images)
“Don’t be complacent,” she said. “More importantly, if you’re here, new to Miami Beach, you need to know what the evacuation route is. You need to prepare for that early and don’t wait til the storm.”
She advised people to listen to the news, have radios with batteries on-hand and have a list of important phone numbers written down.
“That’s the best for all is just be prepared,” she said.