LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Indiana National Guard is headed to Florida to help with hurricane relief, including a unit based out of New Albany.
Four hundred guardsmen left Wednesday to head south. Their job will be to clear routes, help with shelter and get supplies to those who need them after Hurricane Milton hits.
Milton has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida but was a strong Category 3 hurricane Wednesday afternoon and was expected to remain a major storm when its center hits land and then will plow across the center of the state, forecasters said. Tampa Bay, near the top of a long stretch of coastline that could be in the bull's-eye, has not taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century.
Milton targets communities still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida along its devastating march that left at least 230 dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge — projected to reach as high as 12 feet in Tampa Bay and up to 15 feet farther south, between Sarasota and Fort Myers — could toss it around and compound any damage.
A team of 17 Louisville-area firefighters packed up Monday to head south, taking boats and UTVs, along with their hours of specialized training to Florida. The team is made of members from area fire departments, including Anchorage-Middletown, Pleasure Ridge Park, Fern Creek and Okolona.
Indiana guardsmen are already helping with recovery efforts in North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene.
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