Fort Myers Beach giving out sandbags as Elsa nears the coast

The Town of Fort Myers Beach is helping residents prepare as Tropical Storm Elsa inches closer. 

A Town spokesperson said there were about 100 pre-filled sandbags available for residents to take. They’re located behind Town Hall located at 2525 Estero Boulevard.

Once the sandbags are gone, residents can bring their own bags to fill from a sand pile. Residents planning to fill their own bags should also bring a shovel. 

Officials are urging residents to ensure their hurricane re-entry passes are ready. Yellow and Purple passes issued in previous years are valid this hurricane season. If you need a hurricane re-entry pass, CLICK HERE to apply.

Before the rain, many people were seen soaking up the sun on Fort Myers Beach. 

“Like all the other Floridians, watching to see what it’s going to do,” Toni Semuro, who works on Fort Myers Beach, said.

Some tourists said they’ve rearranged their flights and travel plans to try and leave before the storm hits. Most people, however, were unbothered and didn’t make plans to evacuate. 

“As the storm seemed to weaken, we felt a lot more secure in staying here and sticking the storm out,” Matthew Hicks, who is visiting from Kansas City, said.

“We did buy extra food, extra bottles of water and we’ve got portable batteries to charge up all of our electronic devices in case power goes out,” Hicks said. “We’re mostly prepared for anything that should happen, but we’re pretty confident everything is going to be okay.”

CLICK HERE for the latest information on Tropical Storm Elsa.

The post Fort Myers Beach giving out sandbags as Elsa nears the coast appeared first on NBC2 News.