Missouri Task Force 1 deployed to Louisiana ahead of Tropical Storm Francine
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri Task Force 1 was deployed to Louisiana on Tuesday in preparation for Tropical Storm Francine.
The 45 member group left from Boone County Fire Protection District headquarters in Boone County at 6:30 a.m., according to Boone County Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp.
The storm remained a tropical storm Tuesday morning but is forecast to strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane when the storm makes landfall near New Orleans on Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center says the storm is expected to bring 4 to 8 inches of rainfall across Louisiana and Mississippi.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm was 45 miles southwest of Cameron, Louisiana.
According to a post by the BCFD, the task force was activated by FEMA to deploy as a Type III task force.
The group includes 35 personnel, 10 ground support personnel, 100,000 pounds of equipment and two live-found K9 units.
MTF1 says it is prepared to assist in rescue operations, medical support and other emergency services as needed, along with mission assignments that can include search and rescue, wide area search, humanitarian welfare checks and more.
Missouri Task Force 1 is joining Tennessee Task Force 1 in Alexandria, Louisiana and is expected to arrive by 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the hurricane season.
