Polk distributes more than 19,500 sandbags as residents race to prep for Hurricane Ian

Polk County handed out more than 19,500 sandbags as of Sunday as residents raced to prepare for Hurricane Ian. 

Polk residents should prepare to receive 3 to 6 inches of rain in most areas, up to 8 inches in spots, according to Keily Delerme, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Tampa office.

"Water and flooding is going to be the main issue for most of Polk County," she said. "It will be mostly rain for a few days and there are some areas that are already saturated."

Hurricane Ian has slowed down in its approach to Florida, Delerme said, with the greatest impact expected to be along coastal areas and where it eventually makes landfall further north.

"There are areas, rivers and closer to the coast, these areas are already in flood stage and would go into minor flood to moderate flood," she said. "Those who live near rivers will have issues."

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The Southwest Florida Water Management District has activated its Emergency Operations center to level 2, indicating it believes the hurricane may adversely impact the area.

Last Friday, the district said the area's aquifers were at 70% for the Central Florida region that includes Polk County. The previous week, they had been at 63% and risen due to substantial rainfall.

The National Weather Service has assessed Polk has moderate risk of flooding, at least 40%, across the county based on its 8 a.m. Monday predictions

Polk had opened seven sandbag sites as of Sunday, and five of them will remain open until 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to county spokeswoman Mianne Nelson. The sites are:

• Auburndale, 1701 Holt Road, 863 -965-5524

• Dundee. 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW, 863-421-3367

• Fort Meade, 1061 NE 9th St., 863-285-6588

• Frostproof, 350 County Road 630A, 863-635-7879

• Mulberry, 900 NE 5th St., 863-519-4734

• Lakeland, 8970 N. Campbell Road, 863-815-6701

• Poinciana Park, corner of Lake Hatchineha Road and Marigold Ave.

The Fort Meade and Frostproof locations will not be open Tuesday.

Residents living in flood-prone areas are encouraged to sandbag their homes. The county will provide a maximum of 10 sandbags per household.

Lakeland's site had seen the most activity by the end of Sunday with 4,160 sandbags distributed, followed by Mulberry with 4,153, Nelson said. The county's more rural sandbag sites had less activity with fewer than 1,000 at Frostproof and Fort Meade.

The county will continue its regular waste and recycling collection through Tuesday, with operations on Wednesday and Thursday determined by the weather. The North Central Landfill will close if wind speeds reach 30 mph

The City of Bartow has opened its sandbag operations for residents as the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the area. Residents can obtain sandbags at Bartow Fire Department, 110 E. Church St., and sand for the bags at the Public Works backlot, 499 W. Boulevard St., Bartow. Individuals should bring their own shovel, as it's a self-serve site.

Winter Haven opened its municipal sandbag filling site on Friday that will remain open until the weather has passed. Its located at W.G. Roe Boat Ramp, 2269 7th St. SW. There is a limit of 10 sandbags per residence or business. It is a self-service site so pack a shovel.

Lakeland had not opened any of its own sandbag sites as of 9:30 a.m. Monday, according to spokesman Kevin Cook. The city has been advising residents to stop putting items out at the curb, though trash collection will remain on regular schedule until further notice.

Lakeland Electric is asking its more than 137,000 customers to make sure the utility has the correct phone number to reach them. LE Spokeswoman Cathryn Lacy said customers should call 863-834-9535 ahead of the storm to update their contact information as that will how the utility will send out outage alerts and updates if power is knocked out. It cannot be done on Lakeland Electric's website.

If there's a power loss, most Lakeland Electric customers don't need to call in. Because of the transition to smart meters, Lacey said the municipal-owned utility receives a notification as soon as a customer's power is out. The outage is automatically added to a list for restoration. There are roughly 100 customers who opted-out of the city's smart meter program who are the only ones who need to make a call.

Lacy said if customers see a downed wire during or after the storm, they should take precaution and avoid touching it.

"There's no way to tell by looking at it whether it's live or not," she said.

Those who use a portable generator in case of an outage are asked to make sure they follow all safety precautions. Do not use the generator in an enclosed space in the home, even a garage, and make sure that it is properly installed so it doesn't backfeed onto the line caused by plugging it into an electrical outlet.

"That can cause a life-threatening situation to our crews," Lacy said. "Don't plug it into your outlet."

Lakeland Electric has been preparing the same way it hopes area residents will, according to Lacy, by securing all loose items to ensure strong winds can't pick and toss them around, creating debris that poses a threat to power lines.

A full Hurricane Preparedness 2020 Guide with emergency phone numbers and preparation tips can be found at at cdn.kubra.com/a_published/lakelandelectric/assets-docs/hurricane%20guide%202022.pdf.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Sandbags are available at 7 Polk County sites ahead of Hurricane Ian