As the devastation from Hurricane Ida continues to impact Louisiana, teams from Ohio — including Greater Cincinnati's Butler County — are heading south to help with recovery efforts.
The State of Ohio-Butler County All Hazards Incident Management Team (IMT) will be in Louisiana for 14 days to assist the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office with emergency support and also manage a team of 1,000 emergency responders working on rescue and recovery.
As "one of three FEMA approved Supplemental Response Team Incident Management Teams in the United States," according to a release, the Butler County IMT consists of cross-discipline emergency responders from across Ohio. They were also sent to help with recovery efforts in New York during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, in Baltimore for winter weather in 2015 and recently in Florida for Hurricanes Irma, Michael and Dorian.
The Ohio National Guard has also deployed to Louisiana "at the request of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the Louisiana National Guard," says a release from Gov. Mike DeWine.
Soldiers from a transportation company in Mansfield are the latest to leave, and will be helping move food, water and equipment.
Another 170 Ohio National Guard soldiers started active duty on Sept. 8 and are providing recovery support for roughly three weeks.
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