BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – As Brevard County residents prepare for the wet weekend ahead, the Sheriff's Office said Thursday it will begin distributing sandbags.
High winds and record rain began flooding North Indian River Drive earlier this week.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office asked drivers Wednesday to avoid a 2-mile stretch of the road from north Cocoa to Sharpes.
A distribution center across from the Brevard County Jail Complex at 860 Camp Road in Sharpes opened Thursday at 11:30 a.m. and closed at 6 p.m. On Friday, distribution will start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.
Each vehicle will be limited to 10 sandbags.
"Every time it rains, I get more water. It comes up to my garage door," Beatrice Smith, of Merritt Island, told News 6 on Thursday while picking up sandbags. "Everything I have is stored in my garage because I'm renovating my house. So I can't afford to let that water get in my garage. It will ruin my whole life."
"We're worried about more hurricanes and tropical storms," said Ann Bard, of Port St. John, who was also picking up sandbags on Thursday.
Just south of the Brevard County Jail Complex, a Canaveral Groves neighborhood on Sharpes Lake has been flooded since Hurricane Irma.
"It's getting pretty bad out here. A lot of these trailers are underwater," resident Prentis Williams said.
He told News 6 he fears with even more rain in the forecast, the situation is only going to get worse.
"The floodwater has had nowhere to go yet. The ground's saturated, so it just keeps building and building and building. All of our friends and family are going to be underwater soon," Williams said.
News 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said some areas of Brevard County could see up to 5 inches of rain through the weekend.
"As the area of low pressure sticks around South Florida, the bands will continue to pull moisture in as it sits over the Florida Keys," Bridges said.
A 60 percent coverage of rain continues through Sunday as does the flooding threat.
There’s a coastal flood advisory in effect until 4 a.m. on Friday, a high surf advisory in effect until 4 p.m. on Thursday and a small craft advisory in effect until 4 a.m. on Friday.