Hurricane Hilary is closing in on the West Coast, and once the National Weather Service placed the Coachella Valley under a tropical storm warning Friday, many desert residents began preparing for what could be one of the worst storms they've ever witnessed.

The NWS said the desert could face high winds and extreme flooding, which is why each of the valley's nine cities is providing free sandbags and sand for residents to protect their homes from high waters. U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz was at Indio's sandbag fill-up center outside City Hall Saturday, and he reminded residents that although it looks like just another hazy day in the desert, there is extreme weather coming.

"It's important for me to inform community members to take this hurricane and high wind velocity and flooding seriously," Ruiz said. "The most vulnerable are our seniors, mothers with many children that don't have a support system, the disabled and developmentally delayed, and the chronically ill, so if you know anybody (like that) in your neighborhood, please go knock on the door. Check on them ... look out for one another."

He noted that this is an unusual threat for desert residents, most of whom have never faced a hurricane before, so they need to lean on the experts.

"It's new for us. My entire life, we've never had a tropical storm warning in the desert, and I grew up here," he said. "So we're not the experts. We should listen to the experts."

More: Hurricane Hilary live updates: First quarter of an inch of rainfall coming this afternoon

Where to get sandbags, by city

Desert Hot Springs

Desert Hot Springs residents can continue to pick up sandbags starting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Fire Station #37, 65-958 Pierson Blvd., Desert Hot Springs. Each household is allowed a maximum of 10 sandbags. Please bring your own shovel to collect the sand and fill the bags.

Palm Springs

Empty sandbags can be picked up at all five city fire stations. Here are their locations:

• Fire Station 1: 277 N. Indian Avenue

• Fire Station 2: 300 N. El Cielo

• Fire Station 3: 590 E. Racquet Club Drive

• Fire Station 4: 1300 La Verne Way

• Fire Station 5: 5800 Bolero Road

Residents can pick up sand to fill the bags with at Palm Springs City Hall, which is located at 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way.

Cathedral City

Empty sandbags will be available to residents daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cathedral City Fire Department Station 412, located off Ramon Road at 32-100 Desert Vista, Cathedral City. Shovels will be provided on site by the City’s Public Works Department.

Rancho Mirage

Rancho Mirage ran out of sand at its distribution site at the Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory parking lot Saturday afternoon, so many people took their empty bags to a nearby empty lot to fill them with sand straight from the ground. Empty sandbags are still available for Rancho Mirage residents at Fire Station 69 at 71-751 Gerald Ford Drive. Proof of Rancho Mirage address is required.

If you have any questions, please contact Rancho Mirage Public Works department at (760) 770-3224.

Palm Desert

Each Palm Desert resident can receive up to 10 bags, available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The bags are no longer being distributed at fire stations, however, so residents will need to go to the Palm Desert Civic Center, 43-900 San Pablo Ave., Palm Desert.

Indian Wells

While sandbags are no longer available at the Fire Station 55 next to City Hall, there is still sand available. The City of Indian Wells encourages you to visit any local home improvement stores to purchase bags to fill or more options to address potential flood threats. Make sure to bring your own shovel to fill your bags, and stop by as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact City Hall at 760.346.2489.

La Quinta

The City of La Quinta is working to secure additional sandbags and sand deliveries to all distribution locations.

• City Yard: Currently has sand and is waiting for delivery of sandbags. If you have sandbags, please feel free to come and get sand.

• Station 70: Has both sandbags and sand but there is a long line entering. Please be patient.

• Station 93: More supplies are coming.

Please note that if you are at a Fire Station location, these are run by Cal Fire. If there is no personnel there, it could be because they are on a service call. The City is working to ensure it obtains as many supplies as possible for the community.

Indio

Sandbags are currently available at Indio’s four fire stations and City Hall (limit of ten bags per household).

• City Hall: 100 Civic Center Drive

• Fire Station: 46990 Jackson St.

• Fire Station: 46621 Madison St.

• Fire Station: 81-025 Avenue 40

• Fire Station: 42-900 Golf Center Parkway

Coachella

Free sandbags will be made available for Coachella residents and businesses behind Fire Station No 79 at 5th & Palm from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Free sand is available outside of Corporate Yard, 53-462 Enterprise Way, Coachella, for self service. Please bring your own shovel if you have one. The city also has a dedicated page on its website for public safety updates.

Imperial Valley

Farmers are postponing crop plantings in advance of the expected storm, and residents are encouraged to bring in or tie down all loose yard furniture, trash cans or anything that can blow away or cause damage.

Imperial County Fire Department and the Office of Emergency Services are also offering free sandbags and sand to residents who live in the unincorporated areas of the county and whose properties are prone to flooding.

People will need to bring their own shovels.

The agencies have an interactive map showing which county fire stations and cities are distributing sandbags and sand. See below for addresses of the station locations:

• Imperial (City): Imperial County Fire Station #1 & #4, Imperial, 2514 La Brucherie Road

• Heber: Imperial County Fire Station #2, Heber, 1078 S. Dogwood Road

• Seeley: Imperial County Fire Station #3, Seeley, 1828 Park Street

• Palo Verde: Imperial County Fire Station #5, Palo Verde, 112 California 78

• Ocotillo: Imperial County Fire Station #6, Ocotillo, 1157 Imperial Highway

• Niland: Imperial County Fire Station #7, Niland, 8071 Luxor Avenue

• Winterhaven: Imperial County Fire Station #8, Winterhaven, 496 3rd Avenue

• Salton City: Imperial County Fire Station #9, Salton City, 2256 W. Cleveland Ave.

Sandbags can be picked up from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but people can call their nearest station and check to see if bags can be picked up outside those hours. The limit is 10 bags per household.

Officials said the supply of sand and bags is limited and asked residents to consider their own situation first, so the sandbags can go to people whose properties are especially at risk.

High Desert

Much like in the low desert, the eastern slopes of San Bernardino County's mountains are expected to receive heavy rainfall this weekend. Joshua Tree National Park administrator's announced a rare full park closure Friday in anticipation of the coming storms. Residents in the region can get sand bags at the following locations:

Yucca Valley:

• Town’s Public Works Facility, located at 58-928 Business Center Drive. Sand is available here too.

• Fire Station No. 41, located at 57-201 Twentynine Palms Highway

• Fire Station No. 42, located at 58-612 Aberdeen Drive

Joshua Tree:

• Fire Station No. 36, 6733 Park Boulevard

How experts say you should prepare

Two Palm Springs emergency officials have some advice for valley residents on how they can prepare their homes and themselves for the storm. The officials are Capt. Nathan Gunkel of the city fire department and Daniel DeSelms, Palm Springs’ emergency management coordinator.

To protect yourself:

They said residents should make sure they have enough food and water to make it through a few days, including food that can be eaten if the power goes out.

They also recommended preparing for the power outages by charging their cellphones and making sure they have flashlights and batteries on hand. DeSelms said he generally recommends using flashlights rather than candles because of the fire risks that come with candles.

In general, they said residents should be prepared to remain at home for multiple days as it will likely be unsafe to go out during the storm and roads could potentially remain closed or impassable even after it passes.

Gunkel recommended that residents make sure they know how to get out of their neighborhoods in the event the city does need to evacuate, keeping in mind that roads like Indian Canyon Drive and Gene Autry Road will likely be impassable. However, he said people should remember it is impossible to anticipate which other roads may be closed.

To protect your home:

Both DeSelms and Gunkel recommend residents make use of the free sandbags Palm Springs and other cities and agencies are providing, particularly if their homes have ever experienced flooding in the past. It often makes sense to place sandbags in front of the front door or other places where water might pool, Gunkel said.

DeSelms also said those with leaky roofs can put a tarp over them. However, he cautioned that it is important to try to make sure the tarp will be secured enough to withstand the strong expected winds.

Desert Sun journalists Andy Abeyta, Janet Wilson, Paul Albani-Burgio and Chris Damien contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Hurricane Hilary: Where to get sandbags, help in the Palm Springs area