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PA Task Force 1 heads to Texas to assist with rescue and recovery efforts

Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images, via Penn-Capital Star Search and recovery workers dig through debris looking for any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding at Camp Mystic on July 6, in Hunt, Texas.

A group of specially trained Pennsylvanians is being deployed to Texas in the wake of the deadly flooding that has claimed the lives of at least 100 people.

On Monday evening, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that members of Pennsylvania Task Force 1 (PA-TF1) would be departing in the next 24 hours to lead a “multi-state support team for search, rescue and vital response” in Texas.

“On behalf of our entire Commonwealth, we’re praying for Texas — and every family who is mourning the loss of a loved one tonight,” Shapiro wrote on social media.

PA-TF1 is supported by over two dozen participating agencies, which includes the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), multiple cities throughout the state, as well as universities and hospitals.

The task force is a part of the National Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Response Team, which was established under the authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1989.

The team can be deployed within six hours to respond to various emergency situations. It is made up of 70 members who specialize in search, rescue, medicine, hazardous materials, logistics and planning.

Their most recent deployment was last fall to North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene. The Category 4 hurricane, resulted in at least 200 people being killed and thousands left without power.

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.

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