Governor Greg Abbott today announced that he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy additional emergency management personnel to North Carolina to continue supporting Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, following a request from North Carolina Emergency Management. “The State of Texas is deploying additional emergency response personnel to support North Carolina as they continue to pick up the pieces following Hurricane Helene,” said Governor Abbott. “Texans know how long and burdensome the process to recover and rebuild after a hurricane can be, and we will do everything we can to help our fellow Americans through that. I thank all the emergency response personnel and first responders working to support response and recovery efforts across the southeastern United States during this hurricane season.” The Governor directed TDEM to deploy voluntary agency liaison personnel to support community recovery efforts amid ongoing impacts caused by Hurricane Helene. This deployment of resources is coordinated under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). EMAC is a state-to-state mutual aid system that enables states to provide assistance and share resources with another state in response to a disaster or emergency. EMAC members can share resources from all disciplines, protect personnel who deploy, and be reimbursed for mission-related costs. Governor Abbott has deployed more than 400 first responders, personnel, and equipment to support Hurricane Helene and Milton response and recovery efforts in North Carolina, South Caroline, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia, including:
- Deploying Texas Parks and Wildlife Department personnel to support debris clean up in South Carolina following Hurricane Helene
- Deploying Texas Department of Public Safety officers and Texas National Guard military aircraft to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton and disaster recovery personnel to North Carolina to support Hurricane Helene recovery
- Deploying all hazards incident management team personnel to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton
- Deploying emergency response resources to Florida to support Hurricane Milton response and disaster recovery resources to Tennessee to support Hurricane Helene recovery
- Deploying Incident Support Task Force personnel to North Carolina to assist state and local emergency operations centers communities impacted by Hurricane Helene
- Deploying emergency veterinary resources to North Carolina to support Hurricane Helene response and recovery efforts
- Deploying emergency power generators to Georgia following Hurricane Helene
- Deploying Texas A&M Task Force 1 urban search and rescue resources to Florida ahead of storm impacts from Hurricane Helene