The New York Task Force 1, comprised of members of the NYPD, FDNY and NYC Emergency Management, headed south on Thursday night to help communities hit by Hurricane Matthew.
Task Force 1 is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is in place to respond to disasters.
The task force is expected to reach Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, by 5 p.m. Friday.
At a news conference Thursday, FDNY Battalion Chief Joe Downey said teams will likely be deployed to other cities in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina depending on where the storm hits.
“We’re going to go out with a 45-member team,” he said. “We have many positions on the team, from doctors to paramedics to heavy riggers. But I think our primary mission down there is going to be water operations.”
Downey said the task force has four hard-bottom boats and two inflatable boats. He added that all the rescue specialists are trained in swift-water rescue.
The task force has previously responded to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, among other disasters.
