Pa. sending search-and-rescue personnel to Puerto Rico to assist with Hurricane Fiona response

Gov. Tom Wolf on Sunday announced that two members of the state’s urban search-and-rescue task force will be deployed to hurricane-battered Puerto Rico to assist with emergency response efforts.

This comes as Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast Sunday, bringing with it floods, high winds, landslides and massive power outages.

“Parts of Puerto Rico could get more than a foot of rain with this storm, and many people there are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria nearly five years ago,” Wolf said. “We will work with our federal partners to closely monitor conditions on the island and provide whatever support we can to the people there.”

The Urban Search and Rescue task force members from Pennsylvania will work with a federal incident support team. They are prepared to work in Puerto Rico for up to two weeks.

Pennsylvania’s Task Force 1 is one of 28 teams across the country making up the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, which is designed to quickly deploy personnel to U.S. disasters. The state’s task force is sponsored by the Philadelphia Fire Department.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency also is monitoring the situation to see what help is being requested and whether it can assist.

Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico just two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a devastating Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, and destroyed the island’s power grid and caused nearly 3,000 deaths. Puerto Rico was still recovering from that storm.

President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico.