Ohio Task Force 1 heads toward Florida as Hurricane Ian makes landfall

Ohio Task Force 1 left for Florida Wednesday morning as Hurricane Ian continues to hit the Gulf of Mexico.

Crews were previously staged in Alabama, but are headed closer to the area expected to need assistance. On Monday and Tuesday, the 35-person team trained, according to a Facebook post from OH-TF1

“Medical team manager, Dr. Nicholas Kman, conducted emergency first-aid review with the team and members participated in hands-on exercises with updated GPS equipment,” the post read. “All members continue to prepare for work in the hurricane’s area of impact.”

The Butler County Emergency Management Agency left Wednesday to help coordinate rescue missions in Florida. Police and fire departments from Englewood, Hamilton, Monroe, Oxford and Liberty, Oxford, Ross, Wayne and West Chester townships also headed to Florida Wednesday to provide relief.

Hurricane Ian is expected to result in catastrophic storm surges of 12 to 18 feet above ground level with destructive waves on the southwest Florida coastline, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane-force winds will continue inland with hurricane conditions to reach the east-central Florida coast overnight.

Heavy rains are forecasted for the peninsula Thursday. Rainfall will travel to southeast U.S. later this week and weekend.

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