VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Task Force 2 returned home to Hampton Roads on Sunday after helping emergency responders in Georgia and South Carolina during Tropical Storm Debby.
The Virginia Beach-based urban search and rescue team left about a week ago in response to the strengthening tropical storm that threatened to bring historic flooding to parts of the southeast.
Task Force Leader Brian Sullivan and his team were on standby as the storm rolled in.
"On Friday morning we were serving as a 911 asset for the Berkeley County [South Carolina] area, responding to vehicles stuck in the water, people who can’t get out of their homes, assisting the county fire resources with handling all those calls,” Sullivan said.
The task force is one of 28 urban search and rescue teams across the country associated with FEMA. They can be activated and sent to help search and rescue operations in the aftermath of many types of disasters.
The team deployed last Monday, prepared to respond to almost any situation that Debby could present. Task Force Manager Michael Hopkins said Task Force 2 plays a crucial role in disaster response.
"A lot of times we're, you know, a situation like that where you have such widespread damage is that the locals get overwhelmed and so they need assistance,” Hopkins said.
This particular task force is made up of crews from the Virginia Beach Fire Department, along with other local departments. About 48 members of the team were part of this response. Sullivan said the crews will now go back to serving the local community.
They arrived at the Harry E. Diezel Fire Training Center on Birdneck Road on Sunday evening, greeted by their friends and family.