Tuesday, October 30, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) announced today that Oklahoma is sending a 10-person operations support team to the state of New York to assist in the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort. The team includes personnel from OEM, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the city of Tulsa. The Oklahoma delegation will help support the state of New York Emergency Operations Center.
The team is deploying in response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request from New York State Office of Emergency Management. OEM is monitoring additional requests from the affected areas. Fallin has also reached out to other governors whose states have been hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. Where Oklahoma can meet assistance requests, further support is expected to be deployed.
“Oklahoma is a generous and giving state and we are happy to provide whatever support and resources we can to assist our friends along the East Coast as they begin to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy,” Fallin said. “Oklahoma and New York have a special bond, as first responders from both states worked together cooperatively in the wakes of the Murrah Building Bombing and the 9/11 attacks. It is in that spirit of cooperation that we are once again offering a helping hand.”
OEM Director Albert Ashwood added, “We are committed to helping our East Coast neighbors with any resources we have available as they deal with the continued effects of Hurricane Sandy.”
Additional Oklahoma organizations responding to the impacted areas include volunteers from American Red Cross and Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Disaster Relief.