Missouri Task Force 1 helping with search missions in Florida after Hurricane Ian
A 47-member team of Missouri Task Force 1 is conducting search and rescue missions and wide-area search operations Monday in Fort Myers, Florida — one of the communities hit hardest last week by Hurricane Ian.
The responders arrived Sunday in Orlando, "where they were staged and able to get some rest after the 24-plus-hour drive," the Boone County Fire Protection District wrote in an online update.
Task Force 1 is managed by the Boone County Fire Protection District.
The responders sent from Boone County to Fort Myers are classified as a Type III team.
More:Missouri Task Force 1 conducts search missions after flooding in eastern Kentucky
At least 61 people have been confirmed dead in Florida from the impacts of Ian, a Category 4 storm. About 600,000 homes and businesses in Florida were still without electricity Monday morning, down from a peak of 2.6 million. More than 1,600 people have been rescued statewide, according to Florida’s emergency management agency.
The Missouri Task Force 1 team departed Boone County late Friday night with water-rescue equipment and two human-remains-detection canines after being activated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Missouri Task Force 1 was one of five Type III teams that deployed Friday night. Maryland Task Force 1, New Jersey Task Force 1, New York Task Force 1 and Massachusetts Task Force 1 were activated as well.
Missouri Task Force 1 also has four members responding as part of a Disaster Situation Assessment and Reconnaissance team. The DSAR team conducted mapping missions Sunday in Boca Grande, a small community on Gasparilla Island.
"The team was able to map 1,800 acres in just under six hours," the fire district wrote, noting the use of seven drones.
Additionally, there are four Task Force 1 members assigned to the Incident Support Team in Florida.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri Task Force 1 responds to Florida after Hurricane Ian
