St. Pete prepares early for Hurricane Irma

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The rush is on as people prepare in St. Petersburg for Irma.

The city is already asking residents to do laundry, dishes, and any other chores that necessitate water now, in case water supplies are compromised. 

But a lack of water is not what's on everyone's minds. Instead, too much water, in the form of flooding, is what most hope to avoid.

There was a steady flow of people at sandbag locations Tuesday. Cars lined up for more than a mile, waiting to get free sandbags at Mangrove Bay Municipal Golf Course, just off 62nd Street North.

Find sandbag distribution in your area: www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/278677768-story

The city of St. Pete and Pinellas County have several sandbags locations set up and will continue to give the bags away throughout the week.

This location here in north St. Pete is nearby the Shore Acres neighborhood which is prone to flooding.

Even though there’s so much that’s not known about this hurricane, people are coming together helping each other.

 “It’s what we have to do, everyone in Florida is in the same boat right now; same thing applies to sandbags,” St. Pete resident Eric Bechtel said.

One of the safest places to be during the hurricane sits right on St. Pete's waterfront. The Salvador Dali Museum holds some of the world's most precious artwork.

The artwork is protected by 18 inches of concrete and inch thick glass. Each exhibit acts as its own vault. The building is built to survive a Category 5 hurricane.

MORE HURRICANE INFORMATION:

-Tampa Bay Area sandbag information 

-Track Hurricane Irma

-Report Price Gouging to the price gouging hotline

-BE PREPARED: Printable Hurricane supply list from MyFOXHurricane.com

-Make sure your home is hurricane ready

-Flood risk and insurance information

-Florida flood zones and evacuation maps  

-For a FEMA emergency supply checklist click here. 

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