Search and rescue team back in Pa. after Hurricane Matthew effort
Photo by AP Photo/Brian Blanco
Cedric Blackmon, left, entertains neighbor Jaywuan McMillian, 13, by catching small fish and crawfish on a road covered in floodwater associated with Hurricane Matthew on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, in Lumberton, N.C. About 1,200 Lumberton residents had to be evacuated by boat and plucked from their roofs by helicopters as the river crested.
(Harrisburg) — A group of emergency responders are returning to Pennsylvania, as people in North Carolina work to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed Pennsylvania’s Task Force One to the region to help with search and rescue, along with medical care.
Randy Padfield of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency says the deployment lasted 10 days.
“There are some long hours for the folks that are deployed, but a lot of the folks who go out and conduct these missions, they want to go out and help the folks that are in need, obviously,” says Padfield.
Padfield says along with the deployment, a helicopter rescue team also was sent to South Carolina, all as part of an agreement to help other states out during disasters.
“So it’s a lot of time away from their families, it’s a lot of sleepless hours and things like that, but in reality, it’s something that they like to do,” he adds.
The task force is made up of 62 people and four canines.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
