Swiftwater rescue team assists in Richlands evacuations
The Virginia Beach Fire Department is helping rescue Tazewell County flood victims.
RICHLANDS, Va. (WVVA) -Widespread flooding impacted both the downtown and residential areas of Richlands, which the Richlands Chief of Police, Ron Holt, calls a “local state of emergency.” However, teams are working to help those in dangerous situations.
The Richlands Police Department and Richlands Fire and Rescue were joined the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office and the Tazewell County National Guard Unit. In addition, Senator Travis Hackworth, a regional incident support unit, The Virginia State Police, and the Swiftwater Rescue Team from Virginia Beach have also traveled here to help with the evacuation efforts.
“We were assigned to the region through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and we’re here supporting the localities on whatever evacuations they may have that involve water rescues,” says Dillon Dextrader from the Virginia Beach Fire Department Swiftwater Rescue Team.
“We’ve had probably fifteen to twenty evacuations here in the Town of Richlands so far. We continue to see the Clinch rise, so we do anticipate that there will be more throughout the evening,” says Chief Holt.
Chief Holt gives credit to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for their efforts here as well. He expects rescues to continue through the night and says, if you live in a low-lying area and start to see water levels rise, don’t wait until it’s too late to evacuate.
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