© 2024 | WUWF Public Media
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
850 474-2787
NPR for Florida's Great Northwest
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Okaloosa County Opens Point Of Distribution For Supplies

Okaloosa County

As Tropical Storm Beta is expected to bring an extra inch or two of rain to Northwest Florida later this week, Okaloosa County is preparing residents with two points of distribution for supplies.

The PODS, as they’re called, will be located at Northwest Florida Fairgrounds on Lewis Turner Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach, and the Old Spanish Trail Park in Crestview. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday. 

Supplies available include cleaners, brushes, rakes, shovels, garbage bags, gloves, bottled water and hand sanitizer. Twenty-four-foot-by-20-foot tarps along with tie-down ropes will also be available. Items were provided by the American Red Cross of Northwest Florida, Salvation Army and the state’s emergency management division. 

“We ask you to have some patience, some places are running out of supplies quicker than others but we have plenty of supplies for everybody across the county,” said Mark Schwartz, chief of emergency management in Okaloosa County in a Facebook live video. “We had about 900 houses that were impacted (by Hurricane Sally) so we asked for supplies for at least 1,000 houses.”

Schwartz said the county could expect some rain Thursday from Tropical Storm Beta, but the storm is not something to be worried about. Supplies are available to help mitigate any further damage while the area is in recovery mode. 

Residents needing further assistance call the citizens information line 2-1-1. Schwartz also reminded residents to make sure to take “before” and “after” pictures of high-water marks so that damage can be properly assessed. 

“That helps us greatly in telling our story to FEMA,” he said. 

Jennie joined WUWF in 2018 as digital content producer and reporter.