HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf announced that additional members of PA Task Force One, Urban Search and Rescue Task Force departed Philadelphia on Wednesday, en route to Mobile, Ala.
The team will rendezvous there with team members who have been working in Texas for the past week and wait for federal orders to assist in the response to Hurricane Irma.
“We don’t have a clear picture of where Irma will hit the United States, but from Alabama, they’ll be able to quickly report to wherever help is needed,” said Wolf.
The deployment brings to 84 the total number of PA-TF1 US&R personnel who have been deployed on federal orders. It’s not known how long the deployment for Hurricane Irma will last.
A team of eight personnel from the departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Corrections, and the PA Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday left Harrisburg for Ft. Dix, NJ, where they will support the U.S. Forest Service at a logistics staging area.
The team will help move commodities and resources as needed to Caribbean islands that have been impacted by Hurricane Irma. The deployment is expected to last up to two weeks.
“Even with the personnel that have left Pennsylvania to aid other areas, we are confident that based on current models, we have sufficient resources to meet storm-related needs here within the state,” said PEMA Director Richard D. Flinn Jr.
“We are watching this storm, and working closely with other state agencies and our federal and county partners, we will be ready to respond when the time comes.”
Flinn said no matter what impact the storm might bring to Pennsylvania, it serves as a timely reminder for citizens to take steps to ensure their own preparedness.
September is National Preparedness Month, and the redesigned ReadyPA Web site (formerly ReadyPA.org) has free downloadable family emergency plan templates and emergency kit checklists.
