How NJ emergency personnel are preparing to respond to Idalia
The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management is on the road again. Members of the state’s Task Force One team are en route to South Carolina ahead of Hurricane Idalia.
The agency, shared on social media Monday that it had received orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send 45 people and 16 vehicles south to prepare to respond to the category 1 hurricane, which is bearing down on Florida.
NJOEM personnel are deploying to Columbia, South Carolina ahead of the hurricane's projected landfall.
When could Idalia hit Florida?
The storm is expected to make landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday and could reach category three strength, with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour.
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When else has NJ responded?
This isn’t the first time the team has been called on to help. They were deployed to Miami in 2021 to assist with rescue efforts after the deadly Champlain Towers condo collapse.
Members are trained in technical rescue for deployments at natural or manmade disasters including hurricanes, floods, explosions and earthquakes.
In recent years they have been sent to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Irma in Florida and Hurricane Laura in Louisiana.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: When Hurricane Idalia hits Florida, NJ prepared to help
