Texas Task Force One is part of the 28-team national urban search and rescue system under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Texas Task Force One will provide needed assistance with rescue and recovery efforts in its staging point in Shreveport, La.
Texas Task Force One is capable of responding to mass-casualty disasters and is trained and equipped to locate and rescue persons trapped by flooding, collapsed structures and confined space in highly populated areas.
In addition, Perry authorized the activation up to 200 members of the Texas State Guard to support shelter operations and to assist the American Red Cross in Southeast and Eastern Texas as evacuees from Louisiana arrive in Texas.
The governor also has deployed a regional assistance team from the Governor's Division of Emergency Management to Baton Rouge to assist officials with the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness. Perry also ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Transportation to remain on standby to provide assistance as necessary.
