Vermont flood recovery team that includes Long Islanders makes 'a lot of water rescues'
Two K9s and 46 members from the Urban Search and Rescue New York Task Force 1 team get set to deploy Monday to Vermont to support that state's flood response and recovery efforts. Credit: NYC Emergency Management
An elite search and rescue task force, composed of members of the NYPD and FDNY and led by a veteran Emergency Service Unit captain from Suffolk County, deployed this week to Vermont, which is recovering from historic rainfall that also left New York's Hudson Valley with unprecedented flooding damage.
The 46-member Urban Search and Rescue New York Task Force 1 team, which includes 30 members from Long Island, arrived in Berlin, Vermont, early Tuesday morning and immediately began responding to 911 calls and conducting emergency rescues in areas inundated with up to 9 inches of rain.
"Roads were affected. Homes were affected," said task force leader Christopher Giordano, of Bohemia, who noted that his team rescued 30 people out of the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. "There's been a lot of water rescues. We did a wellness check on an elderly woman who was flooded in and her family hadn't heard from her … And we're anticipating more storms rolling in [Thursday] so that's obviously a concern."
The flooding overwhelmed communities across Vermont, trapping people in their homes, closing roadways and littering streets and businesses with mud and debris.
A Montpelier Fire Department swift boat team patrols the flooded streets of Montpelier, Vt., on Tuesday. Credit: EPA / CJ Gunther
Task Force 1, which specializes in urban search and rescue, disaster recovery and emergency triage and medicine, deployed to Vermont with six boats — four zodiacs for water rescue and two flat bottoms for navigating through flooded neighborhoods — along with tools to support rescues from collapsed structures and confined spaces, officials said.
"This deployment reflects New York City’s commitment to supporting our neighbors in times of crisis, and I am confident our team will bring a wealth of experience in disaster recovery and emergency response to the Green Mountain State as they cope with this disaster," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
This is the not the first deployment of Long Island personnel to last week's multistate storm.
Long Island highway crews were sent to the mid-Hudson and Finger Lakes region to assess road damage and inspect bridges after a deluge of rain. The Long Island team was one of 23 bridge inspection teams from the state to help the Hudson Valley rebuild following the floods.
Giordano said it's critical for New York to make its considerable resources available to other states in need.
"You never know where disaster is gonna hit," he said. "So to lean on another state to help is extremely important because you would want them to reciprocate. And they obviously would."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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