Gov. Charlie Baker approved the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to send a response team to hurricane-stricken parts of Florida to assist with recovery efforts for approximately two weeks.
MEMA is sending a response team comprised of 12 members from the Incident Management Team after the Emergency Management Assistance Compact requested their assistance. The team left Monday, according to officials.
"Massachusetts is proud to deploy additional personnel to assist with hurricane recovery and relief operations in Florida during this difficult time," Baker said in a statement.
Florida was slammed on Wednesday by Hurricane Michael, which made landfall as a destructive Category 4 storm. As of Monday, the death toll from Michael’s devastating path from Florida to Virginia was at 19. Crews are continuing efforts to search through debris and the death toll is expected to rise.
The tragic hurricane prompted officials to issue evacuations for more than 375,000 people near the Gulf Coast.
