Photo: Suzanne Cordeiro /AFP /Getty Images
Gov. Greg Abbott gives a briefing at the State of Texas Emergency Command Center on Sunday in Austin. Left to right are U.S. Coast Guard Commander Karl Schultz; Maj. Gen. John F. Nichols, in the National Guard; Abbott; Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management; Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety; and interpreter Alan Sessions. Abbott mobilized the entire National Guard on Monday to help with the disaster wrought by Harvey.
AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he has activated the entire Texas National Guard to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, providing for a total 12,000 members of the force to assist with search-and-rescue and disaster recovery efforts.
Guard members will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal troops “to respond urgently to the growing needs of Texans who have fallen victim to Hurricane Harvey, and the activation of the entire Guard will assist in the efforts already underway,” Abbott said in a statement.
“It is imperative that we do everything possible to protect the lives and safety of people across the state of Texas as we continue to face the aftermath of this storm,” Abbott said.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long said the situation still is dangerous and there’s a long response effort ahead, but Texas and its people “are resilient.”
“FEMA was here before the storm hit, and we will be here as long as needed, actively coordinating the full resources of the federal government, to support Gov. Abbott and the state,” Long said in a statement.
Monday’s action heightens action announced Sunday, when Abbott said 3,000 members of the national and state guards had been mobilized.
This story was originally published by the San Antonio Express News.
