Numerous Emergency Service Task Forces Deployed During Hurricane Harvey
Task Forces from all over the country are rushing to assist Texas emergency services in rescue efforts.
It should be very clear by now that Hurricane Harvey is not a joke and a significant threat to Texas. Although the structure of the storm has changed from a category 4 Hurricane to a tropical depression, the amount of rain currently falling and expected to continue can cripple the lone star state. With 15 to 25 inches of rain expected to dump over Houston, urban search and rescue teams as well as various task forces have been deployed from throughout the country.
As of Sunday morning, NYC, Tennessee, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, Utah, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland and Indiana have all deployed task forces to the effected areas. The task forces are comprised of emergency service personnel, each with specialized training in search and rescue, extrication, high water rescue and anything else necessary for successful saves. As you can see in the images below, these are very large mobilizations with dozens of personnel (120 in FDNY's case) and a wide variety of vehicles. These mobilizations are very similar to what we saw with Katrina and Sandy and they typically are able to be self sustaining for approximately 72 hours.
Since the state of Texas as will as the President has called a state of emergency, FEMA is heavily involved in the rescue efforts as well as the Department of Homeland Security. These task forces are comprised of volunteer and paid personnel and the majority of funding comes from the federal government. As you can see in one of the last posts, these task forces operate in a convoy fashion and usually do not stop in their travels. We at The Drive commend these brave men and women and wish them the best in their efforts.