Ohioans aiding with Hurricane Helene cleanup
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Central Ohioans are in various parts of the southeast helping communities deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1), an urban search and rescue team, was in Florida; when the team finished its work there, it moved on to western North Carolina on Monday. Extreme flooding destroyed buildings and homes, washed out roads, and caused other widespread damage in that part of the state.
“Some of the areas appear intact and other areas have been severely hit," said Dr. Daniel Bachmann, a medical team manager with OH-TF1.
Bachmann is a doctor in the emergency department at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He's one of two Wexner doctors on this deployment with OH-TF1.
Watch: Ohioans head to North Carolina to aid with Helene cleanup
“We go where the need is greatest based on what our leadership tells us in terms of where we need to work," Bachmann said.
When he talked with NBC4 late Monday morning, exact assignments for the task force had not been determined yet.
“People being cut off from the rest of infrastructure, losing power, losing other utilities, so we’re expecting to potentially see people that may not have had the things they’re used to having for several days," Bachmann said.
The Central and Southern Ohio Region of the American Red Cross has volunteers in the region, checking on community members, operating shelters, and delivering meals, according to Don Hawkins, regional communications manager.
“Our hearts go out to those folks that are dealing with the impacts of the storm and knowing they’ve got a long road ahead of them, we’re there for them, and we’re going to be there for them as this road to recovery begins," he said. "We’ve sent a bunch of folks already down there. We’re going to keep sending more folks down in the coming days as the full scope of everything is revealed."
For Bachmann, it's his seventh deployment with the task force.
“This is what we train for,” he said .”We never want any kind of disaster to happen, but we’re ready when it does.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine activated members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday to assist in North Carolina.