Severe weather

NY first responders perform rescues in North Carolina following deadly Helene landfall

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A team of New York's first responders has been deployed to North Carolina, one of the states hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

New York City's Emergency Management posted a series of photos of Task Force 1, as they worked through floodwaters over the weekend in Polk County, North Carolina.

The task force, made up of specially-trained members of the NYPD, FDNY and EMS, was deployed just as Helene was hitting the southeastern states last week.

Helene pummeled numerous states in the Southeast since making landfall on Thursday, resulting in the widespread destruction of homes, businesses and roadways.

Storm-related deaths have been reported in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina, where latest reports had 30 deaths just in the area of Asheville.

While in Polk County, NYC Emergency Management said that Task Force 1 had completed a rescue of at least three people and their pets. The team has been navigating downed trees, mudslides and heavy flooding, according to their post on X.

On Sunday, the agency posted about the team's efforts to build a walkway that connects local residents to their neighborhoods after the storm surge destroyed roads and bridges.

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