Pa., NJ volunteers respond to those in need after Hurricane Idalia sweeps into Florida

Storm debris, damaged property, and downed power lines are what’s left behind after Hurricane Idalia barreled through Florida’s Big Bend region.

“They’re happy. They made it through,” said Ken Pagurek, the program manager of Pennsylvania Task Force 1.

He just returned home after responding to the Maui wildfires in Hawaii.

The 45-person crew is stationed in Taylor County, Florida, where the Category 3 hurricane made landfall.

“The people are resilient, and they’re out there cleaning their yards and doing what they can to get the community back to where it belongs,” said Pagurek.

The crew says it will conduct wide area searches, check infrastructure, and help residents while they’re there.

Meanwhile, in Alabama, the American Red Cross of Southeastern PA is preparing to go to Tallahassee on Thursday morning.

Mary Noll said she’s busy inspecting the emergency response vehicles to make sure they’re safe.

“They are our feeding vehicles,” said Noll, the operations administrator. “They will be going out into the communities that have been hard hit, and they will be making sure they get the people food that they can eat.”

Hours away in Columbia, South Carolina, 45 members of New Jersey Task Force 1 are training as they await orders from FEMA.

Idalia is now a tropical storm and is expected to bring strong wind and heavy rain to this area.

“We’re geared up for anything: urban search and rescue, swift water, flood water rescues, humanitarian, (and) collapse situations,” said Kevin Morrissey, the NJ Task Force 1 program manager.

These three passionate groups are ready to help residents get back on their feet as soon as possible.

“(They are) truly the best our state has to offer and they have a passion for this,” said Morrissey. “They love doing this.”

“We’re here for you,” said Noll. “We always will be. We feel your pain, and we can’t wait to be out there making sure you get fed and get the help you need.”

These groups said they could be in Florida and South Carolina for a couple of days or two weeks.

They’ll stay as long as they need to to help families in need.