A group of South Florida firefighters have traveled to Puerto Rico to help with recovery and rescue efforts following a series of earthquakes that have shaken the island this week.
The team of 45 people is part of the Urban Search and Rescue South Florida Task Force 2, a unit of first responders from Miami, as well as Broward and Palm Beach counties, designed to help out at disaster scenes with less than four hours notice, according to FEMA. The group, along with 90,000 pounds of equipment, were deployed to Puerto Rico on Tuesday, WFOR-TV reports.
“We will do onsite damage assessment, identify needs relative to initially life safety and infrastructure," Miami Battalion Chief David Duenas told the TV station.
A 5.8-magnitude quake hit Puerto Rico on Monday, followed by a 6.4-magnitude tremor that hit just south of the island. As of Wednesday, at least one person was killed and nine other injured from the earthquakes, which also have left nearly a million residents without electricity and hundreds of thousands without water, ABC News reports.
The task force will most likely focus their work on the southern part of Puerto Rico, which has been the hardest hit. Firefighters are expected to spend up to two weeks on the island, WFOR added.
