HoCo Rescuers Head For Carolinas

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Multiple first responders from Howard County have deployed to assist with relief from Florence in the Carolinas. Nine members of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services are part of a swift water rescue team that left Sunday for North Carolina, joining some of their counterparts who are part of other crews.

The swift water rescue team that left Sunday morning had two boats, an ATV and other equipment, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported. Nine members from Howard County were part of the swift water rescue team, officials said.

More than 1,000 first responders have been working in 214 swift water rescue boats searching for people in need of rescue from their homes, according to public safety officials in North Carolina.

Emergency personnel from 28 states are helping with the response to Florence in North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Pictured, the Howard County swift water rescue team deployed Sunday to North Carolina. Photo Credit: Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also authorized a helicopter rescue team — made up of Maryland Army National Guard members and helicopter search and rescue technicians from Baltimore, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties — to help with search and rescue efforts in North Carolina.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters with eight crew members and three maintainers left Sunday to assist with the recovery effort. Called the MD-HART (Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team), the crew trains for emergencies like floods, hurricanes and accidents that require helicopter response. The team has several missions: rescuing vehicles in swift water and flood zones; and rescuing from structures, rooftops, streets, mountaintops and wilderness.

Two other members of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services left Wednesday for South Carolina; they are part of a search and rescue team based in Montgomery County called Maryland Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue Team that was deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Columbia, South Carolina, in advance of what was then Hurricane Florence.

Florence's death toll rose to at least 17 across the Carolinas Sunday as the storm continued lashing both states with torrential rain that has left hundreds of miles of roads and entire towns under water.

More than 200 people were pulled from floodwaters Friday in the small city of New Bern, North Carolina, where rescue workers had to leave another 150 people behind as the storm conditions worsened; they were forced to return to get them Saturday.

Some of the rescues Saturday were particularly dramatic, including Coast Guard helicopters that hoisted 13 people trapped in a home into the sky to safety. Among the 13 adults were an older woman who waded through the waist-deep water on crutches to the chopper's rescue basket. She is expected to be OK, as are the other dozen people plucked from the murky water.

“We are working now in doing everything we can to prevent more deaths,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement Sunday.

• More Than 900 Saved In NC Water Rescues: Gov. Cooper
• Florence Causes Deadly Flooding; Death Toll Rises
• MD Weather: Florence In Forecast, Advisories Issued

More than 30 inches of rain have been reported in parts of North Carolina, officials say, leading to catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged river flooding with the possibility of landslides in North Carolina and southwest Virginia.

Hours after making landfall early Friday morning, Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm. But the storm has remained so large and so slow to move across North Carolina that some areas of coastal North Carolina have been hit by more than two feet of rain, which continues to fall.

The storm shaped up as a two-part disaster. The initial onslaught battered buildings, deluged entire communities with storm surge, and knocked out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses; and the second delayed stage has been triggered by rainwater working its way into rivers and streams. Flash flooding could devastate communities and endanger dams, roads and bridges.

There were 11 rivers at major flood stage and an additional nine approaching major flood stage Sunday night, North Carolina emergency officials reported; in addition, 13 rivers were at or approaching moderate flood stage.

Emergency crews have received more than 24.1 million calls for service since the beginning of the storm event, North Carolina emergency management officials reported Sunday night.

With reporting from North Carolina Patch editor Kimberly Johnson.

Main photo of Howard County rescue technicians leaving Sunday, Sept. 16, courtesy of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer.