Hurricane Debby first made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Monday before plowing on to North Carolina even as it was downgraded to a tropical storm. In both states, the National Guard was activated to provide emergency support.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 61 counties as 3,000 Florida National Guardsmen were mobilized.
"This is nothing new for the Florida Guard," explained Col. Jeremey Davis who is the commander of the 50th Regional Support Group. "Getting activated during hurricane season is no surprise. We are well prepared to support the civilian authorities however needed. We’ll be working closely with state and local agencies for as long as we’re needed, and we can also call on out-of-state partners as necessary."
Before the hurricane made landfall, the National Guard prepositioned itself to respond in anticipation of the emergency. Black Hawk helicopters from the 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment were also standing by for rapid response.
Troops with the 1-265th Air Defense Artillery Battalion walks the streets in Lafayette County to conduct route clearance, moving debris off the streets so that emergency vehicles can move into effected areas and allow citizens who evacuated to access their homes.
Meanwhile, soldiers assigned to the 868th Engineer Company conducted a high-water rescue mission in one of the areas flooded by Debby in Live Oak, Florida.
