Punta Gorda residents loading up on sandbags ahead of Milton

With Tropical Storm Milton developing in the tropics and heavy rain expected Sunday, people in Charlotte County are getting prepared by loading up their cars with sandbags.

Residents at Carmelita Park in Punta Gorda were stocking up on sandbags on Saturday.

Charlotte County residents came out as early as 4:30 p.m. to fill their bags with sand to prepare for the storms next week.

With so many still recovering from the last storms, which resulted in several homes and businesses flooding, neighbors wanted to make sure to get their sandbags early.

Carmelita Park has a self-service sandbag service provided by Charlotte County.

This means each person who arrives is advised to bring their own shovel and take no more than ten bags.

Some people took more than that, which resulted in some sandbag sites quickly running out of bags.

Luckily, some people were kind enough to lend some of their bags to ensure no one left empty-handed.

Christopher Cowart is a Charlotte County resident. He said that he wants to help the community as much as he can.

"I'm just trying to help everybody out," said Cowart. "I'm part of the Army National Guard. This is our family. Our community is our family. We just try to help out as much as we can and do the right thing. We're out here trying to get as many sandbags as we possibly can and then help people out as well."