The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management sent urban search and rescue personnel to aid in the recovery.
A crew from the Tulsa Fire Department went to Florida ahead of the storm, and OKC firefighters have been working in Tennessee and North Carolina. Both crews are part of Oklahoma Task Force 1, and they’ve been conducting searches and damage assessments alongside local and federal emergency responders and crews from other states.
The OKC team has rescued at least three people and two dogs trapped by floodwaters, according to a post on the OKC Fire Department’s social media.
The team from the Tulsa Fire Department helped with rescue and evacuation in Florida before being reassigned to North Carolina.
The Oklahoma Task Force 1 response is part of a national aid system, in which states help each other in large-scale emergencies.
“We have been so appreciative of the support from other states to help with the federal disasters in Oklahoma earlier this year and now Oklahoma can return the favor,” OEM Director Annie Mack Vest said in a statement.
Multiple Oklahoma electrical utilities have also sent line crews to areas hit hard by Helene. OG&E’s crews went to Georgia, as did Canadian Valley Electric Cooperative linemen.
The Cherokee Nation’s emergency management team is coordinating resources for the disaster response with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. In a statement, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. praised EBCI’s preparedness and offered a special prayer for them.
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