<b></b>Residents in Marion and Bradford counties can now pick up free sandbags in preparation for Tropical Storm Colin.
The Marion County Emergency Management Operations Center Marion has opened areas where residents can pick up a maximum of 10 sandbags per vehicle in three sheriff's office locations in Ocala:
- 8311 North Highway 441
- 3260 SE 80th St.
- 19995 SW 86th St.
The locations are open 24 hours a day and are self-serve.
The City of Ocala has opened sandbag stations for city residents at Tuscawilla Park, located at the corner of 8th Avenue and 14th Street, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Complex, located at the corner of State Road 40 and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard behind the Hampton Center. The limit in these two areas is five sandbags per resident.
In Bradford county, sandbag operations will begin at noon at the City of Starke Purchasing Yard on Orange Street and Washington Street, with a 40-bag limit per vehicle.
Levy County Emergency Management Director John MacDonald said in a news release that in addition to providing sandbag stations, the city has put up barricades and notified school boards and public officials.
"If you don't have to go out, don't go out," he said. "Just stay in doors until this little rain event gets over."