Hurricane Irma: Hillsborough Reopens Sandbag Locations

TAMPA, FL — Hillsborough County residents in need of sandbags to prepare for the impacts Hurricane Irma may have on the region are in luck. After running out of materials Thursday morning, the county announced its supply had been replenished.

"The nearly 200,000 sandbags distributed so far is six to seven times more than distributed during any previous storm event," the county wrote in an email to media Thursday afternoon. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The county is limiting sandbag giveaways to three sites on Thursday:

• West Service Unit – 9805 Sheldon Road, Tampa
• South Service Unit – 8718 Old Big Bend Road, Gibsonton
• East Service Unit – 4702 Sydney Road, Plant City

Watch: Deaths, Destruction Reported As Hurricane Irma Heads Toward Florida

Residents in need of sandbags are asked to bring their own shovels. The county requires residents to provide their home address and sign documents acknowledging pickup of 25 sandbags or less.

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By 11 a.m. Thursday, Hurricane Irma was packing 175 mph winds while moving on a path that is expected to impact Florida over the weekend.

Hurricane-force winds extended out from Irma by 60 miles. Tropical storm-force winds extended out 185 miles. Forecasters say, “some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful Category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.”

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