Gov. Cuomo sends 26-member team from mulitple agencies for Hurricane Dorian help

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is sending an incident management team to Florida as Hurricane Dorian bears down on the coast, the governor's office said.

The Category 4 storm was gaining steam off the coast of Florida and expected to make landfall next week.

The 26-member incident team includes 25 state employees from multiple agencies. Cuomo said the team would go to Tallahassee on Sunday morning and be deployed as needed.

The state also has 100 State Police troopers, 50 fire protection specialists from the Office of Fire Prevention and Control and personnel from the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services on standby to be deployed to deliver equipment and supplies to communities in the South, Cuomo said in a statement.

"New Yorkers know firsthand the destruction that can be caused by extreme weather, and we will always step up to help our fellow states during difficult times," Cuomo said. "We are closely monitoring the path of the hurricane and just as we have done for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and several states, New York stands ready to provide any necessary assistance to Florida and other communities as they respond to this potentially dangerous storm.”

Nassau County and Suffolk County officials have no plans to deploy police or firefighters to the South for hurricane relief. PSEG Long Island dispatched 50 contractors to areas expected to be impacted by the storm, a spokeswoman said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending 41 New Yorkers, including support from Long Island, to Florida for disaster relief. The first responders include police and firefighters from the NYPD and FDNY to perform search and rescue, emergency triage and disaster recovery. The task force deployed to Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night from Brooklyn.

FEMA officials said there were 28 other rescue teams that could be deployed within six hours.

With Rachel Uda

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.