More members of Indiana Task Force 1 land in Texas

Additional members of Indiana Task Force One arrived in Texas Monday following the devastating flooding earlier this month. The task force was originally deployed with 49 personnel to assist with search and rescue operations.

An additional 35 personnel are in Kerr County, according to the Indianapolis Fire Department. IFD Battalion Chief Jay Settergren is serving as the mission team leader.

The second team was able to arrive earlier than expected after a local businessman covered expenses for a charter flight. Andy Ivankovich, CEO of Carmel-based software company Baker Hill, resides near the affected area and helped coordinate the flight for the additional task force members.

The task force was activated as a Type 1 Incident Management Team, classified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as responders to the most extreme and complex situations.

At least 132 people died and more than 160 people are still missing following the flooding that started in the early hours on July 4. Search and rescue operations have been repeatedly hindered by additional rainfall in the region.

Established in 1992, IN-TF1 is one of 28 FEMA urban search and rescue task forces across the country. The task force is made up of firefighters, law enforcement officers, and medical personnel from across Indiana. Since its creation, it has been deployed to more than 65 disaster events across the country, including to areas affected by hurricanes, flooding and wildfires.