PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Debby is expected to make landfall in Northwest Florida Monday morning as a Category 1 Hurricane.
With heavy rain from Debby expected as early as Sunday, emergency crews from the Palm Beach area are ready to help.
The Southeast Florida Regional All Hazards Management team deployed seven of its members at around 5 a.m. Sunday morning. They'll be helping in Suwanee and Columbia Counties, just north of Gainesville.
"They are going to be getting information from the crews in the field, seeing how bad the damage is and then getting the resources, whether it's swift water rescue or other things along that line," Palm Beach County Public Information Officer Tom Reyes said.
Counties were able to request help from the state because Governor Ron DeSantis signed a state of emergency for multiple counties in the Gulf Coast and the Panhandle.
The all-hazards team was able to get people together and dispatched in under 48 hours.
"When they deploy, they deploy with the understanding they could be gone for as long as two weeks," said Reyes. "Hopefully with this storm they won't need to be there that long, but that's what they're prepared to do and that's what they packed to do this morning."
Reyes said five of the seven people part of the Southeast Florida Regional All Hazards Management team are from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue— two chiefs, one captain and two lieutenants.
One member is part of the City of Boca Raton's Emergency Management, and the other is with Broward County Sheriff's Office.
St. Lucie County Fire District said they are on standby ready help. As part of a statewide emergency response plan, they offered one engine staffed with four personnel and one advanced life support unit/rescue truck staffed with three personnel if needed.
