Manatee County Invites Residents To Stock Up On Sandbags

MANATEE COUNTY, FL -- Manatee County Public Works crews will offer up to 10 sandbags per household for Manatee County residents wanting to get a head start on severe weather.

The distribution will take place Saturday, Aug. 18 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

Emergency Management staff will also be on site to provide hurricane preparedness information.

The Manatee County government has purchased five sandbagging machines for hurricane preparations this year.

These new machines will be able to produce 700 sandbags per hour, weighing 50 pounds.

The county expects the new machines to save time and manpower. It took the county five days, more than 100 staff members and countless volunteers to produce 150,000 sandbags for Hurricane Irma last September.

These five new machines, purchased for $99,653, can produce 42,000 sandbags in a 12-hour day with only 25 staff members.

For more information, visit the county’s website or call (941) 748-4501.

Image via Manatee County

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)