In front of a fire station in Palm Springs, Calif., residents crowded around a pit of sand on Saturday afternoon under gray clouds, using shovels to fill bag after bag. Every 15 minutes or so, a tractor would dump more sand in the pit. “I’m exhausted,” said Greg Tormo, a real estate agent, who had just finished filling 10 sandbags and was taking a break after carrying most of them to his car. “I’m gathering the energy to take the last three.”Although Mr. Tormo was grateful for his sandbags, he was worried about how effective they would be in protecting his home from flooding. “I think everyone is trying to do the right thing to prepare, but no one really knows what the right thing is,” he said.

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Persons: I’m, ”, Greg Tormo, Tormo Locations: Palm Springs, Calif