FLORIDA, USA — Gov. Mike DeWine has activated the Ohio National Guard to support the state of Florida in anticipation of the rapidly strengthening Hurricane Milton.
The team will consist of more than three dozen members of the Ohio National Guard.
“As Florida recovers from one hurricane and braces for another, Ohio is answering the call to help Governor DeSantis and the entire state," said DeWine. "Forty members of the 200th REDHORSE Squadron are proactively heading to Florida in advance of what is expected to be another catastrophic storm."
REDHORSE is the Ohio Air National Guard's civil engineering unit based in Port Clinton.
Upon arrival in Florida, airmen will conduct assessments of needed support, help clean up storm debris from public property and provide other recovery and relief operations in hard-hit areas of the state.
As of Monday, the hurricane is classified as a Category 5 and is expected to come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region.
Florida requested this assistance from Ohio under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national mutual aid partnership agreement allowing state-to-state assistance during state or federally-declared emergencies.
One week ago, DeWine activated more than a dozen airmen and soldiers to support the state of North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.