Texas sends resources to help after Hurricane Idalia makes landfall
Crews from Texas are getting ready to help people affected by Hurricane Idalia.
Dozens of members from Texas A&M Task Force 1 will assist in search and rescue efforts. The task force was already in place and waiting for the storm to move through Florida.
Once they get the word from FEMA, they will set out in the destruction left behind.
Now, moving into Thursday, rescue missions are the priority after Idalia traveled inland Wednesday.
Idalia digs inland as tropical storm, immersing Southeast in floodwaters following historic Florida landfall
The deadly Category 3 hurricane hit along the coast of the Florida Big Bend near Keaton Beach about 7:45 a.m. local time, posing an immediate threat to lives and properties with 125 mph winds and significant flooding.
Texas volunteers were ready and stationed along the Gulf of Mexico.
Idalia made landfall in the morning as a Category 3 hurricane along the Florida coast.
Now, thousands of homes are underwater and survivors who chose to ride out the storm are trapped.
Texas A&M Task Force 1 deployed search and rescue teams, made up of nearly 50 people, four boats, and K9s, to work alongside local first responders and FEMA.
"We literally have to go door-to-door, building-by-building and look for any signs of people in the building itself," explained Texas A&M Task Force 1 Director Jeff Saunders.
Hurricane Idalia: A look at some of the storm damage
Idalia is being blamed for at least one death in the southeastern United States. The storm hit Florida Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. It then made its way across Georgia and the Carolinas, where it is still dumping heavy rain on coastal areas.
Saunders said he’s in constant communication with the teams.
"When I said goodbye to them at 3:30 in the morning, they were excited to get on the road and be some of the first people to be in the affected area to help," Saunders said.
The task force left Texas Tuesday.
Saunders can’t disclose their final destination, only saying they’re on the west side of the Florida Panhandle.
FEMA will designate what areas the Texas teams will cover.
A backyard of a house is seen flooded in Steinhatchee, Florida on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
All day Wednesday, local police, sheriff's deputies, and fire departments performed swift water rescues.
"From a state deployment side, we have been very busy in the last year. We have had close to 30 deployments," Saunders said.
August has been a busy month for Texas Task Force 1.
Some of the K9 handlers in Florida were also deployed to the Maui wildfires earlier this month with only a few days of rest.
"They are emotionally capable of being in the moment. It’s a balance of taking care of people and seeing the bad stuff," Saunders said.
Texas Task Force 1 can be there 10-14 days.
That’s the normal length of time for a FEMA deployment.
One year ago, they were also was deployed for Hurricane Ian in Florida, and they were there for two weeks.