An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescue crew medevacs a survivor of Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Oct. 10, 2018.
MOBILE, Ala. – The Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue operations throughout areas affected by Hurricane Michael, Thursday.
As of 9 a.m., Coast Guard crews have rescued approximately 17 people and assisted six. Currently the Coast Guard has nine aircraft and three shallow water response teams conducting rescues.
A group of nine people were rescued by Coast Guard aircrews after they became trapped in a bathroom when a roof collapsed in Panama City, Florida, Wednesday afternoon.
“We have multiple aviation and ground assets focused on saving lives,” said Cmdr. Jason Franz, Coast Guard Sector Mobile incident commander for Hurricane Michael. “We’re working closely with Customs and Border Protection aircrews to help with our search and rescue operations. Our pollution and damage assessment teams have began evaluating major areas of pollution and damage to our waterways, and we’ve partnered with the Army Corps of Engineers and other port partners to begin the process of re-establishing our ports to ensure we have commerce flowing as soon as possible.”
The general public should remain cautious, even in nice conditions, and be aware of hazards, storm surge debris, and possible flooding conditions due to the hurricane. If you, your friends or family need emergency assistance, call 911 and provide your location, zip code, street name and number of people in need of assistance.
Do not call for rescue if you are not in a life-threatening situation. Rescue teams are prioritizing rescues by urgency.
