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Tampa Bay Firefighters Head to North Carolina to Provide Hurricane Help

Hurricane Florence | Weather | Storm

Firefighters from the Pasco, Hillsborough and Temple Terrace fire rescue departments left for Raleigh, NC, to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

TAMPA BAY – Firefighters from three Tampa Bay agencies left Tuesday (Sept. 11) for Raleigh, NC, as part of a regional Rescue Strike Team that will help with local pre-hurricane landfall preparations as well as the aftermath of hurricane Florence.

The full Region 4 Rescue Strike Team is comprised of two rescue ambulances from Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, two ambulances and a utility vehicle from Pasco County Fire Rescue, and one ambulance from Temple Terrace Fire Rescue. Each unit includes a complement of personnel.

At this time, they expect to be gone for eight days.

According to the 5 a.m. report from the National Weather Service’s Hurricane Center this morning (Sept. 12), Florence is still a Category 4 hurricane that is headed to the coastline of South and North Carolina. The storm is expected to start lashing the coastline late Thursday (Sept. 3) or early Friday (Sept. 14).

The NWS said, “A life-threatening storm surge is now highly likely along portions of the coastlines of South Carolina and North Carolina … Life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding and significant river flooding is likely over portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states from late this week into early next week, as Florence is expected to slow down as it approaches the coast and moves inland.Damaging hurricane-force winds are likely along portions of the coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina, and a Hurricane Warning is in effect. Strong winds could also spread inland into portions of the Carolinas.”

“This will likely be the storm of a lifetime for portions of the Carolina coast,” the NWS in Wilmington, NC, wrote in its Tuesday evening area forecast discussion.

Photo shows the predicted track of Hurricane Florence as of 5 a.m. today (Sept. 12). Courtesy of the National Weather Service Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Florence | Firefighters | Weather | Tampabay News

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