CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina sent five swift water rescue teams to Texas to help with the recovery from Hurricane Harvey.
Charlotte firefighters left for Texas Thursday morning to help with Hurricane Harvey search and rescue efforts. CFD is one of nine agencies from North Carolina sending swift water rescue teams to College Station, Texas to help.
While firefighters will be searching neighborhoods in boats, some of their own were called out days earlier, to help.
Their team rescued four people from helicopters Wednesday and then flew over areas that could be hit next.
“There’s a secondary flooding problem,” Granger said. “When all of this water tries to get back to the ocean, it’s going to affect areas that originally weren’t affected.”
Firefighters said they are relying on their experience from Hurricane Matthew.
“Similar things that we ran into Matthew, propane tanks floating, utility issues and fire ant issues,” said Peter Skeris, Battalion Chief with the Charlotte Fire Department.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety said 92 people from various fire departments around the state are going to College Station, Texas, on Thursday.
The teams are from Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Henderson County and Raleigh-Durham.
“We’re all in it together and it’s to serve the citizens,” said Brian Barnes, of NC Emergency Management.
The trailers being hauled west are loaded with heavy equipment, boats and other rescue gear.
Many team members told Channel 9 they are expecting a situation similar to what they saw during Hurricane Matthew last year, but on a much larger scale.
“Fifty inches of rain, no one can prepare or plan for that,” said Deputy Fire Chief Rich Granger.
North Carolina Emergency Management said their biggest challenge when they get to Texas will be keeping up with the water.
“I heard a number of 10 trillion gallons of water that has come on the ground,” Barnes said. “That water will be going to the ocean, so as that water moves across the state, all those resources will have to move to address the needs.”
The team is expected to return home Sept. 9.
North Carolina has 30 highly-trained swift water rescue teams. The state-coordinated program came after Hurricane Fran in 1996. The team worked to evacuate residents during Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and was very active during Hurricane Matthew last year.
The teams can handle a variety of rescues including using small boats and other equipment to rescue people from flooded homes and others stranded by floodwaters in precarious locations.
On Wednesday, emergency officials in Lancaster were training to be deployed as well.
[READ MORE: Lancaster rescue team headed to storm-ravaged Texas]
Crews were training on the Catawba River, tossing a dummy into the water to practice rescues and flipping their boat over to learn how to get it back upright quickly.
The rescue team said one of their biggest obstacles will be the water because it could be filled with bacteria and toxic chemicals. They want to physically and mentally prepare for anything.
"That allows us to hone our skills a little bit, and keep them fresh in our minds," said rescue team member Matthew Broughton.
Lancaster crews could be deployed as long as two weeks and will take their orders from the state of Texas. As for the Charlotte firefighters, one team has already been in Texas helping out for several days.
(VIDEO: Crews in Lancaster practice for rescue opportunity in Texas)
Charlotte officials review plan to help evacuees
Emergency management officials in Charlotte are trying to identify possible shelter locations in case they get the call to help.
Red Cross officials said evacuees often land in cities along the interstates they use to evacuate, and the closest shelter to open outside of Texas is in Tennessee.
Twelve years ago, Charlotte was taking in hundreds of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, and now as Hurricane Harvey forces thousands from their homes in Texas, city leaders are prepared to step up.
Charlotte Fire Deputy Fire Chief Rich Granger said emergency management leaders have shelter agreements with buildings and are trying to identify large buildings that could serve as emergency shelters.
"We have to have sleeping areas. We have to have feeding areas," Granger said.
After Katrina evacuees stayed at the Charlotte Coliseum, but it's been demolished. Since school started Monday, schools aren't an option.
"You can use warehouses. You can use former Walmarts in extreme measures," Granger said.
Granger is part of a team of leaders who meets quarterly to discuss emergency plans. Since Katrina, they have continued to update protocols.
"How we take care of people with physical disabilities in shelters, anyone with medical equipment and needs, how are animals taken care of," said Angela Broome-Powley, CEO of the North Carolina Western Region Red Cross.
Broome-Powley said the focus is on sending resources to Texas where 32,000 people slept in shelters Tuesday. If needed, Charlotte will make room.
"We will be ready if they come," Broome-Powley said.
The Red Cross partners with several other agencies, including Crisis Assistance Ministry and Faith Based organizations and community groups, to serve people who are displaced from fires and other emergencies.
Broome-Powley said those same groups would step in to serve any evacuees who would end up in the Charlotte area.
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