Ahead of possible bad weather, North Bay Village distributes sandbags to residents
MIAMI - North Bay Village has begun distributing free sandbags ahead of potential weather-threatening flood-prone areas.
To be proactive, North Bay Village held a sandbag pick-up on Wednesday.
The effects of heavy rain in that community can be traumatic. So, the Village is doing all it can to prevent damage ahead of any storms starting with passing out over 1,000 sandbags to residents.
"Even if we don't get downpours and flooding as we saw a couple weeks ago, for our residents to have these on hand stored in the backyard or garages is a great service we can offer to them as a stop-gap until we have more drainage improvements in North Bay Village, which is coming," said Village Commissioner Rachel Streitfeld.
Streitfeld said this is the second time they've given out sandbags this summer.
The Village has experienced more flooding than normal these past two years because of rising sea levels.
Residents like Sherry Abramson said it can get bad and was there today to pick up sandbags in preparation.
"People can lose their cars, they're parked in an area which is dry when the storm starts and the next thing you know you're in a few feet of water and you car is swimming. North Bay Village does such a good job I think they're really proactive. However, it does happen and it's scary," said Abramson.
Megan Cook at Public Works said being proactive is the only way to handle any rainfall starting by preparing the drains, passing out sandbags and even making sure those who can't make it to the pick-up site still get bags.
"A couple of ladies who had doctor appointments during the time of distribution couldn't make it, so we had no problem delivering it to their homes. Our motto is to be prepared so if someone can't physically make it here we're ready to hit the streets and pass them out absolutely," said Megan Cook, Director of Operations for Public Works.
Currently, they're cleaning the curbs, getting their pumps ready and checking the drains ahead of any rain they may get.
"We check them before storms, after storms and during… very important for us to do it during a storm we can get the water flowing out," said Cook.
If you're in need, they'll be handing out sandbags at their public works station Wednesday through 7 p.m.
