TX-TF1 Response to Hurricane Dolly continues
As winds of up to 90 mph and heavy rainfall from Hurricane Dolly affect the Rio Grande Valley, members of Texas Task Force 1 and other state search and rescue assets continue to assist local elected officials in the Rio Grande Valley.
Latest occurrences:
Dozens of requests for assistance have been received and are being handled on a priority basis
Full-scale operations and assessment will begin Thursday, with swift water teams remaining in the valley to focus on assessments and assistance.
The Governor’s Division of Emergency Management has activated Texas Task Force 2, a Type III Urban Search and Rescue Task Force sponsored by the City of Dallas. TX-TF2 will stage in College Station Wednesday night and then deploy to the Rio Grande Valley Thursday morning. The Type III Task Force is comprised of 30 personnel trained in specialized search and rescue techniques.
It is believed that numerous instances of stranded citizens will be encountered Thursday
Background
The Texas Engineering Extension Service, or TEEX, continues to respond to the request by the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management to coordinate the state’s multi-agency search and rescue response. TEEX is managing all search and rescue assets controlled by the General Land Office, Texas Forest Service, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Civil Air Patrol, Texas Military Forces, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of State Health Services. TEEX is also coordinating the movements of its own College Station-based Texas Task Force 1 urban search and rescue team, as well as Dallas-based Texas Task Force 2.
Hurricane Facts
The hurricane season is from June 1 through November 31. The peak hurricane season is mid-August to late October. Since TX-TF1 was created in 1997, the task force has deployed 24 times due to tropical storms or hurricanes. In 2007, TX-TF1 deployed personnel and equipment five times due to tropical storms or hurricanes.
About Texas Task Force 1
Texas Task Force 1 is sponsored by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) and is comprised of more than 400 personnel representing over 60 jurisdictions and agencies from across the state of Texas and is one of 28 teams in the national urban search and rescue system under FEMA. Texas Task Force 1 and TEEX coordinate state-wide requests for search and rescue. TEEX and the Task Force are headquartered in College Station.
About the Texas Engineering Extension Service
TEEX, a member of The Texas A&M University System, offers hands-on, customized first responder training, homeland security exercises, technical assistance and technology transfer services impacting Texas and beyond. TEEX programs include fire services, homeland security, law enforcement, public works, safety and health, search and rescue, and technology transfer.