Texas Task Force 1 returning to College Station

After orchestrating the largest search and rescue mission in Texas history, members of Texas Task Force 1 will return to College Station for demobilization tomorrow morning. The state’s operation for Hurricane Ike has officially transitioned from search and rescue, through reentry, and now to disaster recovery. All search and rescue assets from Southeast Texas returned to Reliant Arena Tuesday night and those working in Galveston returned today. The teams will complete checking and cleaning equipment before demobilizing Thursday morning and returning to their home jurisdictions. Teams are expected to arrive at the TX-TF1 headquarters tomorrow morning, beginning around 8:15 and continuing through most of the morning.

Final Search and Rescue Numbers

Rescues:

Air: 601

Ground/Water: 2,939

Total Rescues: 3,540

Assists without evacuation: 5,798

Total search and rescue assists and rescues: 9,338

Search and rescue personnel have assessed 28,592 structures and homes and have conducted 665 air missions.

Public Works Response Team (PWRT)

TEEX’s PWRT is the state’s newest asset in disaster response and supports local jurisdictions — as needed — in their response to a catastrophic event by providing critical public works services to facilitate recovery.

The PWRT completed critical infrastructure technical assessments in Galveston Monday, and moved to Orange County to work with local officials to complete the same assessments there.

The PWRT teams and equipment assisting are from Hidalgo County, McAllen, Lubbock Public Works and San Antonio Water Systems.

In addition, the PWRT has been charged with securing generator requests for hospitals, medical facilities, emergency continuity of government facilities, shelters and water/wastewater systems.

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 more than 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 economic development.