Round Rock firefighter deployed to help with Hurricane Ida search and rescue efforts

LOUISIANA, USA — Hurricane Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing ashore sustained winds of 150 mph. Ida made landfall exactly 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina.

Now, as search and rescue teams continue their efforts, a Round Rock firefighter is in Louisiana to help.

The City of Round Rock said that Battalion Chief Gunther von Seltmann departed Sunday morning with the Texas State Task Force 1 (TX-TF1), along with other personnel and a large cache of specialized and technical equipment to help first responders in the areas impacted by the storm.

According to the City, TX-TF1 functions as one of the 28 federal teams under FEMA’s National Urban Search and Rescue System. TX-TF1 is logistically self-sufficient for the first 72 hours of operation to avoid placing a burden on local responding agencies.

All of New Orleans lost power around sunset Sunday, and the storm has been blamed for at least one death – a person hit by a falling tree outside Baton Rouge. The full extent of Ida’s damage is still coming into focus.