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City of San Diego Offering Free Sandbags Ahead of Storm

Palo Alto sandbags 2
NBC Bay Area

A storm system is approaching San Diego this weekend and the City of San Diego will be providing residents with free empty sandbags.

The sandbags are in limited supply and can be picked up at nine recreation centers centrally located in each City Council District.

Sandbags are available at the following locations Monday through Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 2 p.m.

  • Council District 1 - Standley Recreation Center, 3585 Governor Drive 
  • Council District 2 - Robb Athletic Field, 2525 Bacon St. 
  • Council District 3 - Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive 
  • Council District 4 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center, 6401 Skyline Drive 
  • Council District 5 - Scripps Ranch Recreation Center, 11454 Blue Cypress Drive 
  • Council District 6 - North Clairemont Recreation Center, 4421 Bannock Ave. 
  • Council District 7 - Allied Gardens Recreation Center, 5155 Greenbrier Ave. 
  • Council District 8 - San Ysidro Community Activity Center, 179 Diza Road 
  • Council District 9 - City Heights Recreation Center, 4380 Landis St. 

Residents with identification showing proof of residency can receive up to 10 empty sandbags as the bags are not pre-filled. Residents are encouraged to also plan to buy sand at local hardware stores or wherever else sand can be purchased.

When arriving at recreation centers, residents are asked to wear facial coverings and practice physical distancing.

City preparations for the rain are underway including placing “no parking” signs in low-lying and other flood-prone areas, sweeping critical locations around drains and inlets that typically experience heavy debris buildup, monitoring storm drain locations and installing bypass pumps where the infrastructure may be overwhelmed by storm waters.  

Residents can report events such as flooding or downed trees by using the Get It Done application or by calling 619-527-7500.

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