North Shore-Based MA Task Force 1 Returns From Flood-Ravaged Vermont

BEVERLY, MA — The 45 members of the Beverly-based Massachusetts Task Force 1 emergency response deployed to Vermont after this month's historic floods are back on the North Shore after eight days in the Green Mountain State.

"It was a successful mission and we are grateful to be able to help our neighbors to the north," an MA Task Force spokesman said. "The agencies we partnered with were second to none and worked cohesively to help the good people of Vermont."

The team was sent to Vermont on July 10 after parts of the state got dumped on with up to 10 inches of rain in two days — causing roads to flood to flood and wash out throughout the central and northern parts of the state.

Task Force 1 was assigned to the North Division to forge relationships with local and state emergency managers and other key stakeholders as well as assist them with requesting services.

Teams also identified and assessed any potential environmental, HazMat, structural, or life safety threats along water areas that exceeded flood stages.

One Task Force member embedded with the activated Vermont Air National Guard participated in a flight over the north country to assess bridges, river banks, roadways and dams.

Teams traveled throughout four counties and established contact with fire chiefs, sheriffs, or emergency managers over their first four days before heading to the South Division as waters began to recede.

After subsequent downpours threatened further damage on Tuesday, the teams returned to Massachusetts with largely rain-free weather predicted over the next five to seven days.

The Task Force helps local authorities across the country with logistics, search and rescue and provides engineering assistance during catastrophic emergencies such as wildfires and weather-related destruction.

The Task Force sent 80 members to Louisiana in 2021 to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and was one of the first support teams to arrive in New York City following the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)