Central Florida rescue team deploying to help with Ida recovery efforts

Task Force 4 deploying for Louisiana

The task force will head to Louisiana to help with recovery efforts after Ida made landfall on Sunday.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Task Force 4, a rescue crew composed of first responders from Central Florida, is heading to Louisiana to help with recovery efforts after Ida made landfall along the state’s coast as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane on Sunday.

The task force specializes in search and rescue, a mission that is crucial following hurricanes. Team members are from multiple Central Florida agencies, including ones in Orlando, Orange County, Seminole County, Clermont, Kissimmee, and Osceola County. The 40 members deploying include firefighters, paramedics, structural engineers, doctors, search and rescue dogs, and other highly-trained specialists.

They will reportedly go to Baton Rouge to meet up with members of the Louisiana Fire Marshal Office before being directed to other places throughout the state for recovery efforts. They will spend at least two weeks providing aid there.

Ida, the powerful hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday, continued to pound Louisiana after leaving more than a million customers without power, the entire city of New Orleans in the dark, and at least one person dead.

Task Force 4 has responded to over ten events since they were founded. For example, they previously completed recovery efforts after a condo in Surfside, Florida, collapsed earlier this year. They also helped communities impacted by Tropical Storm Elsa in July.

Watch FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.