More than 5,500 National Guard troops were on duty Thursday in three states impacted by Hurricane Idalia, which struck north Florida as a Category 3 storm before dumping heavy rains and damaging wind on parts of Georgia and North and South Carolina.
The entire Florida Army and Air National Guard was deployed Thursday, with some 5,300 troops aiding in recovery efforts across that state, which took the brunt of Idalia’s force, said Air Force Brig.
Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. Nearly 100 National Guard members were on duty in South Carolina and another 128 Guard troops were operating in North Carolina on Thursday, he said.
“The [Defense Department] will remain in close coordination with [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], state officials and other supporting agencies as the cleanup and recovery options continue to develop,” Ryder said at the Pentagon.
Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning near rural Taylor County in Florida’s Big Bend region as the most powerful storm to strike that area in more than a century.
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