Ohio Task Force 1 activated, heading to Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Ida landfall

VANDALIA — Ohio Task Force 1 has been activated and will head to Louisiana to assist in the response of the pending landfall of Hurricane Ida, expected to make landfall as a major hurricane early next week.

>>LIVE UPDATES: Ida strengthens on path to northern Gulf Coast

A Type III urban search and rescue team will respond to the gulf coast, comprised of 45 team members from across Ohio, a spokesperson for OH-TF1 said in a media release.

“A Type III team includes a full equipment cache, including water rescue equipment, a 16 person water rescue team and Canine search teams,” the spokesperson said.

The team is expected to leave their Vandalia headquarters around 6 p.m. Friday, the spokesperson said.

Ida strengthened to a hurricane Friday afternoon with winds up to 75 mph. The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will strengthen to at least a Category 3 storm with winds reaching at least 110 mph when it makes landfall Sunday or Monday.

We’ll update this story as we learn more.

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