NoVA Team Continues Search And Rescue After Hurricane Michael

JACKSON COUNTY, FL—Search operations after Hurricane Michael are continuing in the southeast. Virginia Task Force 1, Fairfax County's own urban search and rescue team, remains in Florida to conduct searches.

In a Tuesday update, the VA-TF1 team tweeted they were heading to Jackson County, Fla., which is about 40 miles northeast of Panama City. Searches are focusing on wide areas, although more detailed searches will happen in damaged structures. The team tweeted that road access remains "difficult due to debris and blocked roadways."

The team was previously in Panama City, which weathered devastating impacts when the hurricane made landfall on Oct. 10. VA-TF1 and other search and rescue teams conducted searches and provided medical care to victims of the hurricane in Panama City.

FEMA activated VA-TF1 on Oct. 9 ahead of the hurricane making landfall in Florida's Panhandle. The death toll has climbed since recovery efforts continued in Florida. Michael was also responsible for six deaths in Virginia: one related to a crash and five floodwater drownings.

The entire VA-TF1 team is made up of 200 career and volunteer fire and rescue personnel specifically trained for domestic and international responses. It has assisted in the emergency response to storms and disaster relief—most recently, Hurricane Florence in North Carolina.

Photo: VA-TF1 in Panama City, Florida, via Virginia Task Force 1