Hurricane season is just around the corner, and generators and sandbags will soon be in high demand.
Officials with Hillsborough County have a few tips on how to properly use them.
If the water coming into your home or business is over 3 feet high, sandbags will not help. That's the tip from Mikah Collins, community relations coordinator for Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation.
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Another myth, he says, is that sandbags alone will stop water by themselves.
“Sandbags are weights for a water barrier,” Collins said. “We recommend using a tarp or Visqueen (thick plastic sheeting). Worst-case scenario, you could use a plastic trash bag.”
He says another myth is that sandbags can keep water out of your garage.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case,” Collins said. “In Hillsborough County, you're only going to receive 10 sandbags per home, per residence, and 10 sandbags is simply not enough to protect the width of a garage.”
And sandbags are not reusable. The bag material they use is biodegradable, so it's going to deteriorate.
Generators are also going to be in high demand this time of year, especially as major storms approach.
Rob Herrin, with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, has some safety tips for anyone using a generator.
First, make sure more than one person in a home knows how to use it.
“Don't just have one user capable of operating this. If that person's not available during the storm, we need to make sure there's redundancy in the household,” Herrin said. “If that one individual who knows how to use it is away, was on a business trip in Charlotte and had to stay there and couldn't come home — now, all your eggs are in one basket and they’re not there to operate the generator.”
And don't refill the fuel tank while it is hot. Herrin says a Hillsborough man died during Hurricane Ian when he tried to refill a generator while it was running.
And most importantly, don't run a generator inside a house or even your garage.
“We recommend 20 feet away from any structure. Even open doors, open windows can bring carbon monoxide into the house,” Herrin said. “Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. You won't smell it; you won't know it's there until you start feeling the ill effects that CO brings with it.”
He says if you have been exposed to carbon monoxide, you might be feeling light-headed. Going outside for fresh air should help.
Herrin recommends practicing how to connect appliances you plan to use before a storm arrives.
Another tip is anyone who lives in a mobile home or trailer should leave if tropical-storm force winds — or worse — approach.
Jon-Paul Lavadeira, with Hillsborough County Code Enforcement, says the tie-downs that keep the trailer from moving are not strong enough to withstand those kinds of winds.
