Ohio Task Force 1, former Kettering resident give updates from Florida

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — Those in Florida are facing a lengthy cleanup and recovery process.

Ohio Task Force 1 is currently working on search and rescue efforts, something they say is a long road ahead.

A spokesperson with the task force told 2 NEWS they’ve been on search and rescue missions since being deployed after Hurricane Milton hit. Debris left by the storms’ path has been their primary challenge.

“We had a lot of collapsed buildings,” said Adam Landis, Ohio Task Force 1 leader.

Landis says his crews have been busy over the last 24 hours assessing widespread damage. After taking shelter when Milton hit, it was a quick turnaround to get back out.

“As soon as we were allowed to go back out, when conditions were safe enough, we continued our search and rescue operations, throughout the day, in the areas that were hit with tornados, and the hurricane,” said Landis.

2 NEWS also spoke with a former Miami Valley resident who lives in Florida. She says the damage is apparent, and it will take days if not weeks to recover.

“It was pretty intense. In that the winds were howling.. and it got really dark out,” said Sara Frasca, former Kettering resident now living in Odessa, Florida.

Frasca says while the hurricane did not hit her area directly, she still had to deal with darkness, harsh winds, and debris in her yard.

“We had a lot of trees down, we had fences down… and just the sound of the wind was kind of intimidating, hearing it howl,” said Frasca.

Though out of the storm’s trajectory, she says she’s still seen the extent of the damage firsthand.

“St. Pete got hit really hard. I know the Tropicana Dome, that top was ripped off.. so we kept seeing these things that kept happening in St. Pete, and although it was kind of scary to think what is going to come next, we felt good where we are,” said Frasca.

The cleanup effort is just getting started.

“We have just been outside for six hours… just cleaning up all the lawn debris,” said Frasca.

She says the community is coming together to help pick up.

“The neighbors are great, they are all helping each other. There was one guy that was walking around with his son, and just had a chainsaw, and was walking house to house and just trying to cut everybody’s stumps,” said Frasca.

Frasca says she plans to head out to areas that were primarily hit by Milton to help those who need it. Ohio Task Force 1 says they’ll be ready to help out as they can as Florida recovers.

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