VIRGINIA BEACH — A day after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a Virginia Beach-based team saved the lives of two people, according to the city’s fire department.
On Thursday night, the Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team used inflatable boats to rescue the people from a “badly flooded” area called Toa Baja, Virginia Beach Fire Department spokesman Art Kohn wrote in an email.
In addition to the two lives saved, the team also moved eight people surrounded by water to higher ground, Kohn wrote.
On Monday, the task force sent about 80 members to Puerto Rico days ahead of the hurricane, which, according to the Washington Post, hit the island on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm.
The hurricane brought nearly 40 inches of rain to some areas of Puerto Rico. In the aftermath, officials are estimating that millions of island residents won’t have power for months, according to CNN. The blow came about two weeks after Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico, leaving more than 1 million without power, according to NBC reports.
The task force team has also been working in central Puerto Rico, as well as Ponce in the southern portion of the island, Kohn wrote.
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