Corbett dispatches teams to areas in hurricane's path
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HARRISBURG -- With Hurricane Irene set to wallop Eastern Pennsylvania tonight and Sunday, Gov. Tom Corbett has dispatched 13 river rescue teams from around the state to Montgomery County outside Philadelphia, plus another 10 flood teams to Lackawanna County in northeast Pennsylvania.
Many of the emergency workers are from Western Pennsylvania, which is expected to miss the massive storm moving up the East Coast, Mr. Corbett told reporters this afternoon. The rescue teams will be on the scene in southeast and northeast Pennsylvania, and ready for deployment, by early this evening.
In addition, one "rapid assessment unit" was sent today to Delaware County, just west of Philadelphia, to deal with problems such as people and buildings hit by flash flooding, removal of debris from fallen trees and aid to utility crews with downed power lines. A second such unit was sent to Wayne County in northeast Pennsylvania, bordering New York State.
Also, 1,500 state National Guard members have been assembled in armories in Eastern Pennsylvania to be used as needed during the storm, said the governor, who was joined at the news conference by Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley and state Emergency Management Director Glenn Cannon. "National Guard units are in place and ready to go,'' Mr. Corbett said.
In addition, other rescue units are being assembled at Harrisburg's big Farm Show Complex, which is used for agricultural shows. These preparations include 25 ambulances, five "strike teams" of emergency workers to treat victims of floods, plus other search and rescue teams to be sent quickly to Eastern Pennsylvania as needed. At Fort Indiantown Gap, a National Guard facility east of Harrisburg, 20 helicopters have been assembled for use as needed for aerial rescues.
Mr. Corbett said he has been in frequent contact with the National Weather Service, federal emergency officials and listened, with other governors, to an assessment of the hurricane with President Obama today.
First Published August 27, 2011 5:50 pm
