On the tail of Hurricane Harvey, one of the most devastating storms in our country’s recorded history, comes Hurricane Irma. News reports state that should Irma continue on her current path as expected, this will be the fourth Category 5 hurricane to hit US soil. Irma has hit the Dominican Republic and Haiti today, moving into Cuba and the Bahamas and then on to Florida this weekend.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 – 5 PM LOCAL TIME
As Hurricane Irma continues to barrel toward Florida and the East Coast of the United States, additional Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces have been deployed to stage for a response to hard-hit areas once the storm goes through. In addition to the men and women deployed, a total of 16 SDF-trained Canine Disaster Search Teams are now deployed for Irma, including five teams that were just deactivated days ago from the Hurricane Harvey incident.
The following SDF-trained Canine Disaster Search Teams are also deployed:
California Task Force 3 (Menlo Park)
California Task Force 8 (San Diego)
- Brent Brainard & Decker*
- Linda D’Orsi & Haley*
- Donovan George & Ollie (CA-TF5 team deploying with CA-TF8)
- Matthew Kirk & Stella
Nebraska Task Force 1 (Lincoln)
SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 – 1 PM LOCAL TIME
In preparation for Hurricane Irma, FEMA is staging task forces nearby that will be able to quickly assist citizens in the aftermath of the hurricane. We will most likely see flooding again, as we did in Texas and Louisiana, but the key will be locating people potentially trapped in their homes once the storm has passed.
The following SDF-trained* Canine Disaster Search Teams are responding:
California Task Force 1 (Los Angeles)
California Task Force 7 (Sacramento)
- Mike Stornetta & Rocket* (CA-TF4 team deploying with CA-TF7)
Florida Task Force 1 (Miami-Dade)
New York Task Force 2 (Albany)
Pennsylvania Task Force 1 (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
Virginia Task Force 1 (Fairfax County)
*These SDF-trained Search Teams were just deactivated from the Hurricane Harvey deployment and immediately responded for Hurricane Irma.
Additional Task Forces are standing by to assist should they be needed.
Thank you for all of your support to ensure that when disaster strikes, Search Teams are there to help those most in need. We hope you take pride in the fact that you are a part of the important mission these Task Forces have ahead of them!
Get the PDF version of SDF's Hurricane Irma Deployment Report here!
Get the PDF version of the Deployment Roster of the 16 SDF-trained Search Teams here!