JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Every county in Northeast Florida provides a sandbag-filling area for residents ahead of hurricanes except Duval County.
This has been Duval County's stance over the past several years and the day before Hurricane Idalia's landfall in Florida, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan was asked about it in a news conference. Deegan said sandbags "don't provide much help."
Is this true? Let's VERIFY.
"If you look at the scientific information around sandbags, if you really look at how they work or don't work, they just don't provide much help, frankly," said Deegan. "Look, counties can do what they want to do and if people feel like they want to go get sandbags, they can do it. But, there's really just no scientific reason to point to, to say that they are particularly effective. I think they have more of an effect of making people feel like they're doing something and at the end of the day, they may end up trapping more water into your house than they end up saving you from getting into your house. So, that's why Duval County has this stance."
THE QUESTION
Do sandbags work?
THE SOURCES
• FEMA
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District
THE ANSWER
We can VERIFY this needs context. Yes, sandbags work but it depends on the type of flooding they're used for.
WHAT WE FOUND
In a FEMA document from 2020 titled "Protect Your Home from Flooding," using sandbags is listed as an action you can take to "prevent or reduce flood damage."
The Army Corps' website gives instructions on how to fill and place sandbags, saying it's "...a simple, effective way to prevent or reduce floodwater damage. Although sandbags do not guarantee a watertight seal, they are a proven deterrent to costly water damage."
It’s important to note there are different kinds of flood waters. Sandbags can help redirect and stop minor flooding, the kind that fills streets. But, with total inundation that parts of Jacksonville has seen from storms like Irma, sandbags aren’t going to make a difference.
First Coast News asked the mayor's office for more information about Deegan’s source of information and is still waiting on a response.