At least 50 Arizona rescue officials sent to Texas to help with Harvey
Aug 28, 2017, 6:04 PM | Updated: 6:04 pm
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
PHOENIX — A growing number of rescue officials from Arizona have been mobilized to Texas to assist with disaster relief efforts from Hurricane Harvey.
As of Monday afternoon, at least 50 rescue personnel from Arizona were sent to Houston and San Antonio to help residents who were still stuck in their flooded homes.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Tucson sent twelve aircrew members, five support personnel and three Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue, also known as BORSTAR, agents to Houston on Friday and Saturday. Four UH-60, hoist-capable, Blackhawks were also sent to help with rescues.
The Tucson Sector Border Patrol will send an additional 50 Special Operations Detachment agents to Houston on Tuesday to “support public safety operations, CBP said in a press release.
Related: Here’s how you can help Hurricane Harvey victims
On Saturday, the Arizona National Guard sent a dozen soldiers, a UH-72 Lakota helicopter and three UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to Texas. The crews were expected to be on standby once they arrived in Texas, but it is unclear whether they were mobilized.
FEMA also activated the Phoenix Fire Department’s Arizona Task Force 1 urban search and rescue team on Saturday. The task force was sent to San Antonio.
By Sunday, the Arizona Red Cross deployed 34 members, a mix of staff and volunteers, to help with the relief efforts.
Thousands displaced by Harvey floods
The storm hit Texas Friday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane, but later was downgraded to a tropical storm.
Harvey is expected to stay in the area for days to come and has already brought catastrophic flooding that has killed at least three people as of Monday.
In Houston, 3,052 people were rescued by police since the storm hit, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner.
BREAKING: Houston mayor says 3,052 people rescued by police since Harvey inundated the city, 1,000 in the last 8 hours.
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 29, 2017
Houston was still mostly paralyzed by one of the largest downpours in U.S. history. And there was no relief in sight from the storm that spun into Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, then parked over the Gulf Coast.
With nearly 2 more feet of rain expected on top of the 30-plus inches in some places, authorities worried that the worst might be yet to come.
Harvey has been blamed for at least three confirmed deaths, including a woman killed Monday in the town of Porter, northeast of Houston, when a large oak tree dislodged by heavy rains toppled onto her trailer home.
A Houston television station reported Monday that six family members were believed to have drowned when their van was swept away by floodwaters. The KHOU report was attributed to three family members the station did not identify. No bodies have been recovered.
Police Chief Art Acevedo told The Associated Press that he had no information about the report but said that he’s “really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find.”
According to the station, four children and their grandparents were feared dead after the van hit high water Sunday when crossing a bridge in the Greens Bayou area.
The driver of the vehicle, the children’s great-uncle, reportedly escaped before the van sank by grabbing a tree limb. He told the children to try to escape through the back door, but they were unable to get out.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
