Drew Dixon
While much of Florida’s Gulf Coast is evacuating or preparing for the landing of Hurricane Milton, some counties on Florida’s Atlantic Coast are also bracing to be impacted by the monster storm.
St. Johns County officials began the process of providing free sandbags to buttress homes and businesses against potential flooding from heavy rains expected to be caused by Milton.
“The sand and bags will be provided free of charge. The public must provide their own transportation and shovels and will be responsible for filling their own bags. There is a maximum allocation of 20 bags per person. A sandbag typically weighs about 30 to 40 pounds,” a St. Johns County news release said.
The sandbags are available for free from 12 p.m. Monday until 5 p.m. And then again Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county distribution sites for the sandbag distribution are at half-dozen locations, including:
— Windswept Acres Park: 5335 SR A1A South, St. Augustine.
— Solomon Calhoun Center: 1300 Duval Street, St. Augustine.
— St. Johns County Equestrian Center: 8200 Smith Road, Hastings.
— Mills Field: 1805 Racetrack Road, St. Augustine.
— North Beach Park: 3721 Coastal Highway, Vilano Beach.
— Palm Valley Bridge: East side of the intracoastal waterway.
Downtown St. Augustine in St. Johns County was heavily hit in recent storms when the Matanzas River breached sea walls. Water inundated and damaged dozens of businesses in St. Augustine’s historic district in 2016 and 2017 following hurricanes. The popular areas for tourists were literally underwater above the building foundations, and boats had to be used to traverse the streets.
The city of St. Augustine is also distributing sandbags for free from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Francis Field near downtown at 25 W. Castillo Drive.
All sandbags will be distributed as long as weather and supplies permit, county officials said.
St. Johns County is one of the dozens of counties that are under a state of emergency declared by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the weekend. While Milton is expected to hit Southwest Florida first, the National Hurricane Center projects the storm will plow through the interior of the state before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. Heavy winds and rains are expected to drench North Florida.
