KERRVILLE, Texas (WSVN) – As the search for survivors in Texas continues, rescue crews from all over the country, including firefighters from Miami-Dade County, have joined forces to do whatever they can in the aftermath of the disastrous floods.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue are on the ground in Texas aiding search-and-rescue efforts near Kerrville.
The department deployed a special unit, Task Force One, in response to the catastrophic floods that struck last week.
“To assist them with recovery and getting back to a sense of normalcy,” said MDFR Battalion Chief Brandon Webb.
The team includes two K-9s, two handlers and two managers who were lending a helping hand on Thursday sifting through piles of debris alongside other first responders and humanitarian groups.
Officials in Texas said more than 170 people are still unaccounted for, as the death toll continues to rise, with at least 121 people confirmed dead.
MDFR as well as other crews are beginning to shift their search-and-rescue mission into a recovery effort.
Earlier in the week, Doral-based Global Empowerment Mission, known as GEM, deployed teams to distribute survival kits and provide assistance.
Trucks from South Florida were also seen pulling into the area carrying supplies to be given to survivors who have lost everything.
“Everything here was underwater,” said GEM’s founder, Michael Capponi.
As numerous support teams continue their recovery work, Capponi described the heartbreaking scenes along the Guadalupe River.
“And then all of a sudden, just like that, within 15 minutes, boom, children were gone. We’ve met people that literally had four or five children that are all gone,” said Capponi.
MDFR’s Task Force 1 is also working with a task force from Nebraska conducting K-9 searches in some of the areas that were hit the hardest by the intense flooding.