Missouri Task Force 1 rescues 109 people in North Carolina

The catastrophic tropical depression Florence has already taken more than a dozen lives, left hundreds without their homes, and thousands without power.

Missouri Task Force 1 left for North Caroline last Tuesday and have been working around the clock since Florence hit the Carolinas.

Task Force 1 leader, Randy Sanders said his crew is still going strong after working a 24-hour shift with torrential downpour and several tornado warnings.

“We’ve seen rain for days, the hurricane was going about 2 miles an hour, so it just creeped around us, it just would not let up, there was torrential rain today and the last three days,” Sanders said.

He said he and his 47-person crew have been there since day one and the conditions have been grueling.

“We were up all night last night and today, we’ve had torrential rains, 8 to10 inches this morning, water throughout the community,” Sanders said.

He said they’ve pushed on despite multiple tornado warnings overnight as well.

In total, Task Force 1 members have rescued 109 people and 10 animals in both Bolivia and Leland, North Carolina.

Sander said they are doing whatever they can to assist local authorities.

“We found people in vehicles, flooded subdivisions, and wires down, trees down, power’s been out for days,” Sanders said.

The team is currently using 10 boats and 12 high-water vehicles to get those who need their help.

He said the harsh weather ravaging the coast has been tough on the communities.

“We are seeing them and intermingling with them on their very worst of days,” Sander said.

But being there has been humbling, he said. The people of North Carolina have been very welcoming despite everything they are going through.

“They honk their horns, and wave, as we bring out convoy of equipment, hundreds of thousands of pounds of equipment and all our vehicles,” Sanders said.

He also said he and his crew could be in North Carolina up to another week, but he said they will stay however long local authorities need their help.

If you are interested in donating to help with Florence relief, you can click here.