Michigan crews have helped hundreds in North Carolina floods

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 19-member team of first responders from Michigan continue to assist with water rescues and cleanup in the state of North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

The state deployed its Michigan Task Force 1 Swiftwater Team last week . Since they arrived in the Chimney Rock area of North Carolina, team member and retired Sterling Heights fire chief Chris Martin told News 8 they have assisted in helping hundreds of individuals through rescues, retrievals and supply runs.

“Yesterday we did at least 12 people from the other side of this river over here that there’s no access to. So things like that is a little more complex than just the house checking and things like that,” Martin said.

Their team is part of Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. Their deployment was upon request by the North Carolina state government for out-of-state support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

Martin said since their arrival, flood waters have receded but the team is still navigating washed away roads and fields of debris.

“Clearly infrastructure. Roads, bridges. All the trees that are down, the power lines that are down. There’s no electricity for miles and miles so that’s clearly the biggest problem,” he said. “Nobody has got refrigerators. Even the people who are on generator power are stating they’re running out of propane.”

The team is slated to stay in North Carolina through the week. Their mission has now shifted toward logistics and accounting for those individuals who stayed in their homes and neighborhoods despite warnings.

“Making sure there’s not somebody, somewhere that’s trapped and in need,” Martin said. “There are hundreds of hundreds of structures in this area that there’s no roads or access to it. And it will take days or weeks to get all the roads redone and open, but we need to find a way to get to those.”

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