As the devastation and casualties in central Texas continue to grow following the flooding of the Guadalupe River last weekend, the Indiana Task Force 1 was deployed to assist in search and rescue operations in Kerr County, Texas.
The group deployed July 8, the same day Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed in a news conference that more than 100 people were dead, and at least 161 people are known to be missing in Kerr County. Texas leaders believe the number of missing people will continue to grow over the upcoming days.
Members of the the Indiana Task Force 1 prepare gear before the task force deploys to San Antonio, Texas to assist with rescue efforts in Kerr County, Texas, on July 8, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Officials confirmed that at least 27 children and counselors from the Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ camp in Kerr County, were among the 110 people declared dead.
“The hearts of our fellow Texans are breaking every single day because of what people in this community and the surrounding area are going through,” Abbott said.
In total, Indiana deployed 49 personnel from across the state, including several fire departments from the Indianapolis region. Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Jay Settergren was appointed to the mission as team leader and will accompany the personnel to Texas.
“Please keep the team in your thoughts during this deployment,” the Indianapolis Fire Department said in a social media post.
The level of devastation that has hit the region has led to several other teams being deployed to Texas, notably a highly skilled urban search and rescue team from California and a group of firefighters and first responders from Mexico.
Indiana Task Force 1 departed from Indianapolis shortly before midnight on July 8 and is en route to a staging location in San Antonio in central Texas.
The team is comprised of several Indiana public safety agencies including the Indianapolis Fire Department, Indianapolis Metropolitian Police Department News team, Carmel Fire Department, Zionsville Fire Department, Lafayette Fire Department, Sugar Creek Fire Department, Brownsburg Fire Territory, Plainfield Fire Territory, Indianapolis International Airport, Decatur Township Fire Department, Bargersville Fire Department, Fishers Fire Department, Westfield Fire Department, Noblesville Fire Department and Wayne Township Fire Department Indianapolis.
Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Task Force 1 deployed to Texas to assist in rescue efforts