United States Urban Search and Rescue teams, Virginia Task Force 1 ("VA-TF1") and California Task Force 2 ("CA-TF2"), were activated on Tuesday evening and mobilized on Wednesday to travel to Haiti in the aftermath of a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that devastated the nation's capital. Hundreds of thousands of people are feared trapped or dead following the earthquake Tuesday.
Ready for Disaster!
Both VA-TF1 and CA-TF2 are specially-trained and equipped 72-person Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces consisting of Los Angeles County (CA) and Fairfax County (VA) Fire Department firefighters and paramedics rescue specialists, emergency room physicians, structural engineers, heavy equipment specialists, canine search dogs and handlers, hazardous materials technicians, communications specialists, and logistics specialists.
Each unique technical rescue team responds with 55,000 pounds of prepackaged search and rescue tools and medical equipment to conduct around-the-clock search and rescue operations at domestic and international disasters, both natural and man-made.
A Witness to Deployment
California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) deployed from March Air Base in Riverside County just before 10:30PM PT last night on their 8-hour flight (
See video). March Air Base is 14 miles north of
Canyon Lake, CA where I live. I was watching the take-off live on KCAL-9 News and went outside to watch as the massive C-17 flew low right overhead of my home accending on it's journey to devastation.
I have personally seen the LA County Fire USAR team in action after the magnitude-6.7
Northridge earthquake in 1994 (Jan. 17) while I was a
photographer for LA County Fire and all I can say is these guys are "fearless badasses", the best of the best heading into the worst of the worst!
As I watched the plane fly overhead, all I could do give a salute and wish them goodluck and godspeed...
* Photos above are provided courtesy of the L.A. County Fire Dept.
USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
VA-TF1 & CA-TF2 are partnered in providing the U.S. Agency for International Development’s ("USAID") Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance with humanitarian assistance in the form of collapsed structure search and rescue, in response to natural and man-made disasters, throughout the world.
Both task forces have also deployed nationally to the Oklahoma City Bombing, The Pentagon, Hurricanes Katrina and Isabel as well as international deplyments to the bombing in Kenya, earthquakes in Turkey, Taiwan, and Iran.
Help Needed! How You Can Help
Donations to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief can be made in the following ways:
1. Make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org by clicking on the Donate Now button.
2. Call in a donation to the Red Cross at 1-800-REDCROSS or for Spanish call 1-800-257-7575.
3. By texting "Haiti" to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department (http://www.state.gov/). Your donation will be automatically billed to your cell phone.
Or, visit the site below to learn more about ongoing disaster relief in Haiti:
+ InterAction - List of Agencies Accepting Donations
And Finally...
Family members trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.
Related Links of Interest
+ L.A. Rescurers Deploy to Haiti Quake Zone
+ California Task Force 2 International Urban Search & Rescue
+ Virgina Task Force 1 International Urban Search & Rescue
+ L.A. Search-Rescue Team Demonstrates Response
+ CNN News Coverage
+ Preparing for a Major Earthquake or Disaster
+ Police Scanners & Emergency Preparedness
That all for now, let's hope for the best for Haiti's survivors...
-RF
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