Fairfax County Search and Rescue Heads to South Carolina Floods

Photos by Captain Randy Bittinger

Fairfax County’s Urban Search and Rescue team is heading to South Carolina to help in areas that were flooded over the past few days, according to messages posted to social media by the county fire department.

The Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue team, also known as VA-TF1, has been activated by FEMA to deploy to South Carolina, they said in a message Monday posted to their blog.

VA-TF1, one of the 28 elite FEMA USAR teams, will be departing for South Carolina to assist with the ongoing flooding that is occurring in the region.

Residents in South Carolina were urged Sunday to stay indoors due to record-breaking rain that has led to flooding, dam breaches, curfews, nine fatalities and power outages. While the rain has stopped, officials say the situation is far from over.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division asked residents on Sunday to shelter in place and avoid dangerous flooding conditions. According to the National Weather Service, more than 20 inches of rain has fallen in the state since Friday.

This is the second deployment for the task force this year. Their most recent mission was an international deployment to Nepal.