For CBP's coordinated response to Hurricane Dorian, please visit https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/hurricane-dorian
For media entities: b-roll and additional photos are posted to Dvids, https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/cbpdorian
For Flickr photos of CBP preparedness and response efforts, please visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGzAteL
leave for the east coast as part of a spe-
cial recovery team to support Hurricane
Dorian relief. Photo by Carol Harrison
NEW ORLEANS, LA— Agents and officers from throughout the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection’s (CBP) New Orleans Area of Operations mobilized over the weekend and traveled to the East Coast in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, which delivered catastrophic damaging winds and endless flooding conditions to the Bahamas over the weekend.
Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents combined to form a special response team to provide relief on the ground, while Air and Marine Operations (AMO) in Hammond dispatched emergency medical technicians to Florida along with providing resupply missions and a maritime patrol aircraft to the Bahamas.
“Our Air Interdiction Agents are fully engaged in providing relief to those affected by this hurricane,” said Francisco Rodriguez, New Orleans AMO Director. “Ensuring their safety is a high priority.”
The special response team joined local, state, and federal first responders today in the coastal region to provide emergency response, equipment resupply, search and rescue operations, and tactical communication support in coastal communities and the Bahamas, under FEMA Region IV to support CBP Hurricane response missions.
hawk prepares to take off for Miami in
support of Hurricane Dorian relief ef-
forts. Photo by Jason Woody
“The New Orleans Field Office personnel located along the Central Gulf Coast are uniquely aware of the magnitude of destruction caused by hurricanes,” said Steven Stavinoha, Director of Field Operations in New Orleans. “They are always alert and prepared to answer the call for assistance during these types of natural disasters.”
Although Dorian has been downgraded to a Category 2, the storm remains a threat to the east coast of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, making CBP assistance critical.
For the latest on CBP hurricane relief efforts and CBP New Orleans contributions, follow CBP on Twitter @CBPSoutheast, @CBPGulfCoast, @CBPFlorida, and @CBPMidAtlantic.