Hurricane Irma: Virginia Search And Rescue Team Heads To Virgin Islands

(Updated 2:15 p.m.) FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA—Members of Virginia Task Force 1 are heading out to the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Irma claimed at least 20 lives in the Caribbean, including the deaths of four in the U.S. Virgin Island and four others in the British Virgin Islands on Thursday. As of 5 a.m. Friday Irma is 55 miles northeast of the Great Inagua Island and nearly 500 miles southeast of Miami.

The VA-TF1 team, which includes 80 Fairfax County first responders left Friday was stationed at Robins Air Force Base near Macon, Ga. before heading to the Caribbean islands.

The team was activated Wednesday, a day after some of the first responders had just returned from Texas, during Hurricane Harvey rescue operations. Trained hazardous materials responders from Montgomery County have also been activated and sent to the southeast.

The VA-TF1 team includes swiftwater trained personnel with equipment, a search and rescue team and rescue dogs. “We’re prepared for anything ranging from structural collapse, to water rescues,” Chuck Ryan, an assistant fire chief at Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, told WTOP.

Watch: Florida Braces As Irma Rips Across The Caribbean

SEE ALSO: Hurricane Irma: 'Freight Train' Of A Storm Barrels Toward Florida, Georgia And The Carolinas

Authorities are preparing for the worst in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as Hurricane Irma continues its destructive path. Evacuations have been ordered for the Florida Keys, parts of Florida, and north into Georgia. A state of emergency has been issued in Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia.

The storm is expected to make landfall in southern Florida Sunday morning. Hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of southern Florida, while hurricane watches are in effect into the central region, according to the National Hurricane Center. Irma could directly hit the Carolinas and Georgia, but forecasters say it's too early to predict the severity and location of the impacts.

In this Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, photo, damage is left after Hurricane Irma hit Barbuda. Hurricane Irma battered the Turks and Caicos Islands early Friday as the fearsome Category 5 storm continued a rampage through the Caribbean that has killed a number of people, with Florida in its sights. (Anika E. Kentish/Associated Press)