Texas Task Force 1 deployed to Eagle Pass to assist with search and rescue

Flagpole in Eagle Pass that was flattened by the tornado’s high winds.

Texas Task Force 1 deployed a Type 1 heavy structural collapse team with 84 members to assist with search and rescue in Eagle Pass, where deadly tornadoes struck on the evening of April 24, 2007, killing seven and injuring dozens more. The Rapid Assessment Team left for the border community just after midnight, and was joined by the rest of the team later Wednesday. The team spent the day searching the area, including three schools that were severely damaged by the deadly tornado.

Texas Task Force 1 was activated by the Governor's Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) early Tuesday, April 24, and staged in College Station in preparation for severe weather conditions across the state. The mission was completed in Eagle Pass late Wednesday evening and the team returned to College Station on April 26.

"Texas has much to be proud of but clearly, Texas Task Force 1 is the crown jewel of response," said GDEM Chief Jack Colley, after touring the Eagle Pass disaster site with Gov. Rick Perry on April 25. "Words cannot express the pride we had yesterday seeing your great team doing the solemn and intense effort of helping those who were in such need." Sponsored by the TEEX under The Texas A&M University System, Texas Task Force 1 is Texas' only statewide Type I urban search and rescue team and coordinates the state's water rescue program.