Alaska sends National Guard, other help to hurricane-hit states in the Lower 48

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The Rocky Broad River flows into Lake Lure and overflows the town with debris from Chimney Rock, North Carolina after heavy rains from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, 2024, in Lake Lure, North Carolina. Approximately 6 feet of debris piled on the bridge from Lake Lure to Chimney Rock, blocking access. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

The state of Alaska is sending 50 National Guardsmen to Florida to help that state recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The latter hurricane made landfall Wednesday night near Tampa, according to NPR.

“We are moving forward with planning and preparations with the intention of sending them via commercial air by the end of the week,” said Alan Brown, director of communications for the Alaska National Guard.

Disaster-relief staff with the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs have already traveled east to help North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the department.

A two-person operations support team is working with the state operations center, he said, and on Thursday, a four-person team is headed east to help an individual county’s disaster recovery.

The state also sent two volunteer agency liaisons — people in charge of connecting organizations that provide help with disaster victims who need it.

One of those liaisons is in Florida and the other is in Virginia, he said.

“We have other requests coming in from the states that were affected by the hurricanes,” Zidek said. “We’re going to look at our staffing needs in Alaska … we’ll send whatever support we can.”

Alaska is a participant in the 50-state Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which allows states to share staff in case of disaster.

Zidek said the program is beneficial for everyone who participates. Alaska disaster-recovery staff get experience dealing with problems, and recipients of the aid benefit from having more hands on site.

“In Alaska, we get a tremendous amount of experience because we experience disasters on such a regular basis,” he said.

That makes Alaskans particularly helpful in the field, and they return skills to the state.

Zidek said he’s personally deployed four times to other states, learning in the process.

“Each time, I’ve brought back something that can help Alaska,” he said.

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