‘This is a true disaster’: PA Task Force 1 leader describes challenges faced during Hurricane Helene deployment

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Pennsylvania Task Force 1 members are currently stationed in North Carolina conducting search and rescue missions and helping those dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which has killed at least 200 people.

The Category 4 hurricane traveled across the Deep South and southern Appalachians, dumping more than 40 trillion gallons of rain, wiping communities “off the map” and leaving millions of people without power.

Last Thursday, 45 members of PA-TF1 were directed to Greensboro, in central North Carolina, before being sent to Marion, roughly 40 minutes east of Asheville, which was left primarily isolated due to damaged roads and power lines by flood waters.

Task Force Leader Brian Booth told WHYY News that the damage he’s witnessed throughout this deployment is the worst he’s seen since Hurricane Michael in 2018, which hit Florida as a Category 5 storm.

“This is a true disaster and the people down here need everybody’s well wishes,” Booth said. “The members, they’re doing great. These are the best response personnel in the country and they’re showing it by the work that they’re doing here.”

Booth said the biggest challenges the crew has faced involves the terrain, as they’re working in “high mountains and low valleys.” Roads are also washed out or blocked by mudslides and other debris, such as trees.

“They all have to be cut through,” Booth said. “We’ve been working with multiple agencies and even the local county folks to get us where we need to go to do our mission.”

Upon arrival, PA-TF1 had to deal with an urgent medical mission, in which crews had to cut their way through an obstructed driveway to get to a person who was using a ventilator off of spare power from a generator.

“We finally got them into the back of a medic unit at about 4 a.m. in the morning,” Booth said. “It took every bit of six hours to get to the person, get them packaged and get them out. There’s one thing to cut a path for us to get through to walk and get our ATVs in. It’s a whole different thing to get a medic unit in there.”

“Our medical team manager, who’s a doctor, he estimated that person might have had six to eight hours left on their ventilator,” Booth said. “They were supplying electricity off of an inverter in their own van that was nearly out of gas. So if we didn’t start that operation immediately and get it done and in a timely manner, that person may not have had a successful outcome.”

The team is scheduled to be there for 10–14 days, which could be extended with the permission of sponsoring agencies such as the Philadelphia Fire Department. So far, they’ve helped eight people dealing with urgent medical issues get to safety. Through the difficult situation, Booth said the local communities have been handling it the best they can.

“The people are very self-reliant,” Booth said. “They’re loggers, there’s a big stone industry down here. They’re already starting to rebuild the roads faster than the county can even catch up to them. The main thing is going to be getting power restored and the infrastructure that’s been washed away rebuilt, which may take some time to do.”

President Joe Biden visited areas impacted by the hurricane Wednesday. Biden said the federal government would cover 100% of the costs of debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months for North Carolina. Up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers will be deployed to help the North Carolina National Guard deliver food, water and medicine.

According to Axios, fixing damages from Hurricane Helene could cost $35 billion.