Miami Beach Suspends Sandbag Distribution

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Based on changes in Hurricane Dorian expected path, the city of Miami Beach has cut short its sandbag distribution program.

"While we still expect rainy, windy and stormy weather — and a few inches of rainfall — in our area over the next 48 hours, we will be significantly deescalating our recommended preparation while we continue to monitor the storm to assure nothing changes in the forecast," Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber announced Saturday night.

The city began distributing sandbags to Miami Beach residents on Saturday from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. at the Public Works Operation Yard.

"While we recommend keeping your sandbags for the remainder of hurricane season, if you can't store them please dispose of them like bulk waste which the city collects and do not pour them on the beach or in any drains," the mayor advised.

Stored Vehicles in City Garages

The city also told residents that they would be able to park their cars for free at Miami Beach public parking garages for the duration of the storm.

"In consideration to those who may have left town, residents will have until Tuesday, September 3rd at 12 p.m. to remove their cars from city garages free of charge," the mayor added. "Garages will return to normal operations at noon on Tuesday."

Mayor Gelber said the decision to ramp down hurricane preparations was made after consulting with experts.

"While I would never prematurely deescalate our hurricane preparation, the experts we rely on have uniformly indicated our weather experiences will be typical of the summer and not extreme," he said. "Accordingly, I think it important that we let people know that they can begin to return to normalcy."