Virginia Task Force 2 to return after response to remnants of Hurricane Debby

NORFOLK, Va — Members of Virginia Task Force 2 will be returning to the commonwealth Sunday. They’ve been in South Carolina providing assistance after the remnants of Hurricane Debby moved through earlier in the week.

Members of the task force left Monday morning to stage in Columbia, South Carolina and be a resource for anything needed.

Task Force Leader Brian Sullivan, who is also a battalion chief for the Virginia Beach Fire Department, said the storm did create some flooding in areas north of Charleston.

Sullivan said it wasn’t until Thursday into Friday that the task force got a mission to help with flooding in Berkeley County, South Carolina. That area got nearly 20 inches of rain within several hours.

The task force helped clear flooded roadways and rescued people who couldn’t leave their homes or cars due to rising water.

Sullivan has been on the task force since 2007. In that time, he’s been a part of several incident responses.

“It was a little surprising that the storm had gone through, and then the storms all developed and added onto it. So it kind of created a different wrinkle in that the ground was already inundated, and they got this massive rain storm, and the water had nowhere to go. So the things changed very rapidly,” Sullivan told News 3’s Jay Greene. “That’s one thing to take away these weather events. Things can change very rapidly. When the water starts rising have a plan, and have resources in place to be able to deal with that.”

Sullivan said his group plans to leave South Carolina Sunday morning and in Virginia by the evening.

Virginia Task Force 2 is made up of firefighters from across Hampton Roads and Virginia. The force is part of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue teams which are stationed all across the country.