VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – After a week away, Virginia Task Force 2 is back home from Florida.
The group of first responders from Hampton Roads deployed ahead of Hurricane Michael and spent the last week helping with recovery efforts.
Some of the firefighters said the devastation they witnessed in Florida is on the same scale as what they saw last year in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
Though it wasn’t their first rodeo, these first responders said pictures don’t really capture the power of nature.
“This was 50 miles inland. They didn’t get any water damage, however the wind was just horrendous,” said Jasen Plocharczyk, a lieutenant with James City County Fire Department.
The cleanup and recovery will take months.
“In one of the counties we worked in, they were still, as of this morning, 100 percent without power, and most other counties, they don’t expect to have power for two to three weeks,” said Jon Rigolo with the Virginia Beach Fire Dept.
The group woke up before the sun, often working 18 hour days on little sleep, clearing debris and looking for survivors.
“There were many houses that we walked up to that were just gone, the only thing left was the foundation,” Rigolo said.
Homes that were still standing had significant damage and in many cases, people inside.
“We talked to several people as we walked through, trying to get an idea of who went through this storm and you could just see the shell shock in their eyes,” Plocharczyk said.
The team met one couple who rode out the storm in their trailer.
“He was in the trailer with his wife, he realized the trailer was probably going to roll over so he strapped a dog house on top of a tractor trailer tire, climbed in it and rode the storm out,” Plocharczyk said.
A tree eventually fell on top of the trailer but luckily no one was hurt.
The task force hopes this story reminds everyone that hurricane season isn’t over yet.
“Mother Nature is nothing to mess with. It’s serious when they tell you to get out of an area, to get out and stay out until it’s time to come back,” Plocharczyk said.
Task Force 2 is a federally recognized search and rescue team. The group can be deployed by FEMA to any national emergency or disaster.