New York News

NY Responders Head To Florida, Virgin Islands

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published September 7, 2017 at 4:48 PM EDT

New York is sending 124 National Guard members and a specialized rescue team to help with the Hurricane Irma response.

The members of the National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing were being deployed Thursday to the U.S. Virgin Islands with planes, helicopters and boats.

The Division of Homeland Security's Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team is being assigned to Florida. Its specialties include structural collapses, excavation, confined spaces and technical rope rescues.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo notes that New York has had a lot of "firsthand experience" with "extreme weather."

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New York News HURRICANE IRMA

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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