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Massachusetts Task Force One Deployed To Louisiana As Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall

BEVERLY (CBS) – An emergency crew from Massachusetts was deployed to Louisiana in order to assist people impacted by Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm earlier in the day.

Massachusetts FEMA Task Force 1 was activated on Sunday.

Members of an 80-member team left for Louisiana from their Beverly base Sunday night. The drive is 24 hours long.

Many of the members of Task Force 1 are firefighters or first responders. The task force has responded to natural disasters such as wildfires and provided assistance in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

This time they will be stationed in Baton Rouge to assist with search and rescue missions.

"With this scope of magnitude, it will be heavy flooding areas and with the storm surge, major structural buildings collapse, buildings wash away," said Tom Gatzunis of the task force. "Our team is capable of doing still-water and swift-water search and rescue operations, wide-area search meaning large, vast areas, structural collapse search and rescue."

The American Red Cross is also sending blankets, food, water and other supplies.

"They'll give us assignments and we'll pick up the food and deliver it to different neighborhoods that have had a lot of damage from the storm," said Red Cross volunteer Julie Kraus.

National Grid said 25 local crews on also on their way to the Louisiana region. Eversource is sending 45 crews.

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