Residents living in flood prone areas of Polk County are encouraged to be proactive and fill up some free sandbags now.
Polk County Fire Rescue stations at 14 locations are offering free sandbags. Each household can fill a maximum of 25-30 sandbags beginning at 2 p.m.
Be sure to bring your own shovel.
- Babson Park Fire Station - 714 South Alt. 27 in Babson Park
- Caloosa Lake Fire Station - 14684 N US Highway 27 in Lake Wales
- Cottonwood Fire Station - 126 Cottonwood Dr. in Davenport
- Crystal Lake Support Station - 2450 E Main St. in Lakeland
- Golfview Fire Station - 2902 Hwy 60 East in Lake Wales
- Indian Lakes Est. Fire Station - 221 Hogan Lane in Indian Lake Estates
- Jan Phyl Fire Station - 333 American Spirit Blvd in Winter Haven
- Mulberry Fire Station - 900 5th Street NE in Mulberry
- Nalcrest Fire Station - 69101 Nalcrest Rd. in Nalcrest
- Polk City Fire Station - 200 Commonwealth Ave. SW in Polk City
- Providence Fire Station- 8936 Hwy 98 N in north Lakeland
- Sleepy Hill Fire Station - 3030 Sleepy Hill Road in Lakeland
- Solivita Fire Station - 1201 Cypress Parkway in Poinciana
- Willow Oak Fire Station - 4210 Willis Rd. in Mulberry
Some tips, from Polk County officials, for effective sandbag use where water can enter a structure:
- 1. If not working on concrete, a small ditch should be dug just deep enough to go below ground level. The ditch should be back far enough from the entrance to allow room to place optional submersible (sump) pumps into the protected area. The edge of the visqueen should be placed in the ditch as a bottom layer.
- Place the first row of sandbags in ditch, fold visqueen over the top of first row, place a second row of bags on top, fold visqueen back over, place a third row of bags on top, and so on. This creates an "S" pattern with the visqueen.
- Depending on the size of the barrier, one or more submersible (sump) pumps should be utilized. The barrier will not completely stop water from entering the protected area. However, with the proper placement of bags, visqueen and sump pumps, water, in most cases, can be removed quickly.
To report flooding of homes or for the most updated information, you can call the Citizen’s Information Line at 863-401-2234 (locally) or toll-free 866-661-0228. Or check the county website for updates www.polk-county.net.
You may also obtain further emergency information at http://www.facebook.com/polkcountyem and http://www.twitter.com/polkemergency.
