NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the wake of major floods left by Hurricane Joaquin in South Carolina, Tennessee agencies are stepping up to help.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Tennessee’s Fire Marshal’s Office and 14 other state and local agencies are sending water-rescue teams and equipment to affected areas in South Carolina.
The nine teams, consisting of 83 people and more than 20 boats and watercraft, mark the state’s largest emergency support effort to another state since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“Tennessee has some of the best-trained, most-capable swift water rescue teams in the Southeast,” TEMA Deputy Commissioner David Purkey said in a statement. “I’m thankful we have such dedicated professionals willing to help others in their time of greatest need.”
Conditions are worsening in South Carolina , which expects at least 10 more inches of rain in the next 12 to 24 hours as the hurricane moves northwest, according to TEMA. There is also potential for heavy rains to reach East Tennessee.
