Lawler assists a pedestrian at a water
distribution center in Wilmington, N.C.
Although the winds have died down, Hurricane Florence is still a huge challenge for the men and women of CBP. Water from rivers and local streams continues to rise and isolate towns and neighborhoods. Those conditions have meant no slowdown in CBP’s pace to deliver assistance.
Border Patrol agents have provided security for Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel as they go house-to-house checking on the welfare of residents and even pets. They have been clearing debris and providing food and other essentials to the families of CBP employees.
water for distribution at a FEMA center
in Wilmington, N.C.
“We’re supplying MREs [meals, ready-to-eat], fuel for generators, bottled water and doing damage assessments for CBP officers,” said Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Keith Lundy, assigned to the Region IV Emergency Operation Center in Miami. At the same time, a Border Patrol Mobile Response Team continues to patrol neighborhoods, providing relief to a burdened Wilmington, North Carolina, Police Department, said Special Operations Supervisor Gerardo Carrasco.
“We offer an essential law enforcement presence,” he said, adding that 25 agents are on standby in Charlotte, North Carolina, to offer even more support as the flood waters continue to be an issue. Border Patrol agents from the southwest and northern borders operating riverine shallow draft vessels and personal watercraft, have also supported the recovery.
Victor Bosch from the Marathon Station,
Miami Sector, to clear in Wilmington, N.C.
In addition to the law enforcement mission, Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations agents have been involved in a variety of relief efforts, including rescuing two adults and a dog from rising floodwaters and responding to the scene of a car accident.
Meanwhile, 10 AMO helicopters and another five airplanes went to the region. The aircraft are providing rescue efforts, live video of storm damage and making sure air traffic is properly managed in the area. The video is streamed back to emergency operations centers, as well as to CBP command centers in the field and back at the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.
security in hurricane ravaged areas, such
as this agent protecting a federal building
in downtown Wilmington, N.C.
Office of Field Operations accounted for all its personnel and officers and business has resumed at airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston. The Field Office Academy in Charleston has opened and training began Sept. 18, according to the Atlanta Field Office. The office also reported a portion of the roof at the Port of Wilmington office was torn away. There was also damage at the Morehead City office.
As business resumes at other southeast and mid-Atlantic ports, 186 CBP officers, agricultural specialists, supervisors and managers have volunteered to assist in the operations.