Joseph Ostapiuk
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK CITY — A New York task force has been called on to aid in response and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall Sunday as a devastating Cat-4 storm.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA) on Sunday activated Urban Search and Rescue — New York Task Force 1 to provide 83 members of its team — made up of trained personnel from the FDNY and NYPD — to be deployed to Louisiana.
“New York City is happy to answer the call beyond the five boroughs,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner John Scrivani. “This team has faced a range of disasters and is now prepared to help people who are threatened by Hurricane Ida.”
“We wish the New York Task Force 1 team a safe journey and successful response and recovery operation,” said Scrivani.
Hurricane Ida ripped through Louisiana Sunday and left hundreds of thousands without power behind sustained winds of up to 150 miles per hour, reported NOLA.com, the Advance/SILive.com‘s sister site. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a news conference the system “will be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s,” the New York Times reported.
The New York task force specializes in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery, emergency triage and medicine. The team comes equipped with six canines and departed New York City Emergency Management’s Brooklyn facility on Sunday to head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
There, the personnel is expected to pre-stage ahead of potential assignments.
Four water rescue boats, motors, hazardous materials response equipment and other tools are at the team’s disposal to support the operations, said New York City Emergency Management.
The task force is expected to touch down in Louisiana Monday evening.
“After Hurricane Katrina, our members were proud to bravely serve in New Orleans and help the people of Louisiana during their time of need,” said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. “Now as another hurricane heads towards the state, our highly trained FDNY members ― along with their counterparts in the NYPD ― are doing what they do best: preparing to perform search and rescue operations in a dangerous environment.”
“I know they will make us proud once again,” said Nigro.
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