Hurricanes Helene and Milton
I will hold my breath as I hope that Hurricane Season is officially over. The destruction we see from these powerful storms reminds us just how small we are. Yet the human spirit that helps our neighbor is also unmatched. No doubt these storms cause widespread damage that will takes years to recover, and an emotional toll that many will bear forever.
The questions is often asked, “How can we prepare for these big storms? How can we prepare for what seems to be an increasing number of destructive events?” Honestly I don’t have the answer for that. Our area of expertise is not in preventing the damage or the toll it takes on people. These events create a response that starts at their local level and quickly envelops many industries from all over the region, country and/or world. Everyone comes together to help within their area of expertise, their piece of the puzzle.
Our part of the puzzle is during the Search and Rescue Response. Four of our search teams (canine and handler) participate on a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team. FEMA US&R deployed a massive response to these events, including WA-TF1, the team we participate on. Handler Chad and K9 Scout were deployed with the team to this event. They deployed to Florida and North Carolina. Everyone on the team brings a different skillset, that together allows them to address a vast number of problems. The team was deployed for two weeks and we are thankful to have all of the teams home safely.
Deployments of this nature often come at what seems to be a moments notice. The teams keep their bags packed in case the call comes in. When a search team deploys they leave behind home, work and plans. Life still has to go on back home, which adds to the stress of the entire event. Those back home are immediately steeped in extra work to keep up, and the responder has more stress wondering if everything is going okay. Once the responder gets home (canine included) there is a period of readjustment while they recover from the long hours, travel, stress, etc. All of this not including whatever normal tasks they need to catch up on. We are proud of the work they all did. Also thank you to their family and friends at home, whose sacrifice is equally important.
Our area of expertise may not be in the prevention or minimalization of the storm’s destruction. I don’t have brilliant answers on how we make right, everyone’s world that was turned upside down. What I do know, is that if we all pick up our piece of the puzzle, we can do our best to put it back together. Thank you to all the teams that responded, the neighbors who helped each other, those who donated physically and monetarily, and everyone else for their piece of the puzzle. These events remind us that we are all in this together!
Welcome Home Chad and Scout!
