North Carolina Team Sent To Help Puerto Rico After Earthquakes

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina team of structural engineers, architects and urban search and rescue team members were sent to Puerto Rico on Wednesday to access damage after the recent earthquakes and aftershocks.

The 12-person team is composed of six structural engineers and an architect from private firms and UNC-Charlotte, four urban search and rescue team members from Charlotte, Durham and Greensboro fire departments who will serve as interpreters and support staff, and a team leader from North Carolina Emergency Management, a news release said.

The focus of the team is to determine the structural safety of homes and other buildings.

They will initially focus on residential properties so that people living in shelters can return to homes that are safe to occupy.

The team was requested by the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau for a 14-day mission.

They deployed through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), an agreement between U.S. states and territories to assist each other with critical emergency resources and personnel after disasters.

“The logistics and operations teams at NC Emergency Management have put a great deal of work into assembling this team, organizing the mission and making it a reality,” NC Emergency Management Deputy Director Steve Powers said in a news release. “The team is headed to work in some tough conditions, but we know they are up to the task.”

There have also been teams deployed from California and New York to help.

Some members of this North Carolina team deployed to Puerto Rico two years ago, after Hurricane Maria struck the island.

At that team, North Carolina deployed several teams of emergency managers who helped Puerto Rico plan and execute hurricane response and recovery operations for eight weeks.