North Texas First Responders Assist in Hurricane Ian Aftermath

On Fort Myers Beach, one of Florida’s hardest hit communities, search and rescue crews still go door-to-door nearly a week after Hurricane Ian’s landfall.

Among them are 46 members of Texas A&M Task Force 1.

Dispatched at the request of FEMA, the first responders drove for two days with boats prepared for initial swift water rescues. They’ve lingered with K9s to help dig through the rubble as the search effort drags on.

“We’ve started out supporting the initial hasty searches and primary searches, and now we’re doing more thorough searches, going house by house and gaining entry where we can,” said Andrew White of Trophy Club.

As an emergency communications professional, White’s been with the task force for about five years and has rarely seen storm damage on this scale.

“Usually, by this point, we have a pretty good handle on things and we’re starting to think about going home,” he said. At this point, I think we’re glad to be here. But we’re definitely looking forward to the opportunity to finish this up, mostly because that means in the community can get on to the recovery effort.”

Florida reports more than 1,600 rescues have been made. Now, in addition to survivors, crews look for bodies as officials warn the death toll is likely to rise.

Today, the fatalities topped 100, most of which have been in Fort Myers.

The Lee County Sheriff said Tuesday that search and rescue would continue for several more days before cleanup becomes the primary focus, allowing residents to assess what it will take to rebuild.

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