Strategic response team discusses Hurricane Florence plans

They’re experts in dealing with natural disasters like hurricanes and they work alongside our first responders.

Members of Strategic Response Partners arrived in Wilmington on Tuesday to talk about their work before, during and after Hurricane Florence. 

The SRP team is going to businesses, like hospitals and nursing homes, and making sure those buildings are secure once the storm hits. Then they help first responders in assisting victims.

“This is going to be a completely different area the morning after the storm,” Michael Saavedra said. “There’s gonna be power lines that are down. There’s gonna be debris everywhere. … First responders are going to be very tied up. There are different deployment teams from all over the United States that are coming here to help.

“Secure yourselves. Secure your home. … There’s countless emergencies that come from negligence.”

Many members of the rapid response team are first responders themselves with law enforcement, fire department or military backgrounds.

Once the damage is done, they help homeowners, renters and business owners understand what to do, particularly when it comes to insurance questions.

The response team stressed communication.

Problems with GPS signals have already started for some and that’s not going to change anytime soon with so many people leaving and once the storm hits, cell towers are often the first to go.

SRP members said before Florence makes landfall, discuss a time, day and place to meet up with loved ones once the storm is over since making calls could be problematic.

The response team said to call 911 in an emergency, but SRP can be reached at 888-582-5848 if emergency lines are tied up.

Copyright 2018 WECT. All rights reserved.