Hurricane Michael: NoVA Water Rescue Team Heads To Gulf Region

Members of Virginia Task Force 1 are heading to the Gulf region of Florida to assist when Hurricane Michael hits. FEMA has activated the Fairfax County-based team of 16 water rescue personnel. The team departed Tuesday morning.

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.

Hurricane Michael, which strengthened to a category 2 storm, is moving north over the Gulf of Mexico, according to a Tuesday morning report from the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters expect the center of Michael to move inland over the Florida Panhandle or Florida Big Bend area on Wednesday and to the northeast across the southeastern United States Wednesday night and Thursday.

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Michael is anticipated to be a major hurricane when it hits Florida and will weaken as it moves inland. Although there's uncertainty in the storm's path at this point, early rainfall projections call for maximum rains of 2 inches in Northern Virginia.

Image via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue