Members of Nebraska Task Force 1 remain in southern Louisiana and continue their secondary search mission following Hurricane Ida.
Battalion Chief Brad Thavenet says their current mission is to search buildings and assist victims with immediate needs like food, water, and medication. He says the team completed 60% of their mission on Tuesday and searched 500 buildings. They should finish their mission Wednesday and then will be immediately assigned another.
Thaernet says the team is working through rising heat and humidity, no electricity, and the water isn’t going down. Those obstacles are impacting their mission. Teams were also informed of other dangers. Floodwater displaced alligators and snakes and they are moving into more populated areas. There is also the risk of fire ants that travel in swarms on top of water. Thavenet says the Task Force has not encountered those dangers yet.
Thavenet says they are also relying on technology for help, including drones. He says, “They can look at a house by using mapping icons to describe it. Whether it is major damage, minor damage, destroyed. If there is a victim there, we have had human interaction.”
The team saw some familiar faces while on this mission. They ran into several LES employees who are in the area to help get the lights back on. It is good to see Nebraskans doing their part in helping others impacted by this natural disaster.