Nearly 40 search-and-rescue workers from Illinois fire departments are headed to Texas to help efforts following the state’s devastating floods.
Illinois was one of 24 states offering assistance as 101 people remain missing and at least 132 people killed, state officials said.
It’s just the latest in the thousands of deployments of Illinois rescue workers in response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other disasters since the resource sharing agreement was passed in 1996.
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating tragedy and hope we can be of service,” Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security Acting Director Theodore Berger said in a statement. “Just as many towns, cities, and counties in Illinois have agreements to assist each other in times of disaster, states have agreements to do the same.”
PAWS Chicago was also aiding in the rescue efforts on the pet end, taking in 22 dogs and puppies at Nebraska City Municipal Airport. Volunteers with the group were then driving the animals 500 miles to Chicago and were expected to arrive late Monday night. Another transport flight of pets is expected in Wednesday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue teams fully resumed operations Monday, said Obed Frometa, FEMA Blue Incident Support Team information officer. Some others held off or were ordered to stop because of worries about the weather forecast and the possibility of more flooding.
Levi Bizzell, a spokesperson for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, which has been organizing about 200 searchers, said the department suspended operations for the day Monday because several inches of rain were expected to fall on Kerr County by late afternoon.
“Everybody here wants to be out there working,” Bizzell said. “They literally come in in the morning whether they are tired or not, and they just want to get out there and work because they want to find closure for these families.”
Kerr County meanwhile advised all volunteers to leave the river area and move to higher ground, saying only those teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command were permitted in the response zone.
Contributing: AP
