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Search And Rescue Team From Tennessee Sent To Florida

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Wikimedia Commons
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The Florida Channel
Gus, a rescue dog from Tennessee Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue team searches the crash site at the Pentagon in 2001

A search and rescue team from Tennessee has been deployed to Florida ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Michael.

The Memphis Fire Department says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked Tennessee Task Force Type 3 to report to Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.

The department says a team of 80 firefighters, doctors, engineers and dog handlers departed Tuesday.

The task force will be responsible for wide-area and swift water search and rescue efforts.

At least 120,000 people along the Florida Panhandle were ordered to clear out on Tuesday as Hurricane Michael rapidly picked up steam in the Gulf of Mexico and closed in with winds of 110 mph and a potential storm surge of 12 feet.