TASK FORCE ENROUTE TO GALVESTON, TEXAS
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed today reported that a full response team from Pennsylvania Task Force One has been activated and dispatched to Galveston, Texas, to deal with effects of Hurricane Ike, which will directly strike the coastal island city today.
Reed said the city received federal activation orders at 10:22 a.m. today and immediate call-ups began. Fifteen personnel were deployed to ready equipment and gear. At least 78 personnel are being sent and were dispatched from the city’s special operations center after 3:30 p.m. today. They will travel to Jacksonville, Florida, where they will be airlifted to Galveston.
Their expected deployment will be for two weeks and they will be engaged in search, rescue and recovery operations where needed.
Reed said that for personnel, such as city firefighters, that will be deployed on the hurricane assignment, other personnel will be utilized on overtime to fill-in their shift, so there is no reduction in the number of city personnel on duty in Harrisburg. All costs are covered by the federal government, including the overtime. Task Force personnel also include highly-trained individuals from throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The City of Harrisburg is the administrator of PA Task Force One as well as other statewide response teams.
Reed also reported that personnel sent to the Gulf states for Hurricanes Gustav and Josephine returned Wednesday and, starting Thursday, consumable supplies they had used were replaced and equipment cleaned and readied for reuse.
Further, truckloads of donated supplies and equipment were sent from Harrisburg Tuesday night to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in response to that city’s requests for help in the wake of devastation there caused by Hurricane Gustav, the worst hurricane to hit that city in Baton Rouge history. Items have since been delivered and the driver crews are now returning to Harrisburg.
The donated items came from area citizens, businesses and groups in response to the call for needed supplies and were taken to city Fire Station No. 1 for collection or, in some cases involving large quantities of specific items, shipped directly to Baton Rouge. "We sincerely thank all who responded to this sister capital city’s need in their time of peril," Reed said, nothing that electrical power is still largely out, and extensive infrastructure and other damage needs to be addressed there.
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