Task Force 1 heading back to Columbia after taking part in Kentucky tornado recovery

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Task Force 1, an urban search and rescue team based in Columbia, headed home Wednesday.

The team was sent this week to Mayfield, Kentucky, a town of about 10,000 people devastated by a tornado that killed more than 70 people in Kentucky. President Joe Biden toured the town and gave remarks Wednesday, pledging full federal support for recovery.

The National Weather Service rated the tornado an EF4 packing 190 mph winds on Wednesday.

Task Force 1 ran assessments on more than 1,600 structures and did wellness checks while in Mayfield. The team searched buildings for survivors and assessed the damage, which ranged from none to destruction. Task Force 1 uploaded its data into a GPS system that helped populate a map that local officials could use.

Task Force 1 is expected to return to its base at the Boone County Fire Protection District's headquarters on Thursday.