NEW ORLEANS --
A 120-member team that specializes in search and rescue will head from Louisiana to Alabama to help that tornado-ravaged state in recovery efforts, officials said.
Officials said they received the request Sunday, though they had reached out to counterparts in Alabama immediately after last week's deadly storms.
"If there is one thing we have learned through past experience, it is that the importance of partnerships stretches far beyond Louisiana’s borders," Col. Mike Edmonson, deputy secretary of the Department of Public Safety, said.
The mission of the Louisiana team will be to conduct building and secondary searches in affected areas, officials said.
Edmonson said the majority of operations are expected to be staged in and around Tuscaloosa, the city hardest hit by the storms.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with those affected by these devastating storms and our commitment to help remains strong,” Edmonson said.
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