Members of the Iowa National Guard and a state-operated swift water rescue team have been deployed to North Carolina to assist with efforts to recover from Hurricane Helene, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Monday.
In a post on X , formerly known as Twitter, Reynolds announced she had authorized the deployment and asked people to join her and her husband, Kevin, “in praying for all those impacted” by the hurricane that has killed more than 100 people.
Seven Guard members will be deployed until at least Oct. 8 and will be funded by North Carolina. The swift water rescue team is comprised of swimmers and divers from Iowa law enforcement units, many from the Cedar Rapids area.
Helene pelted North Carolina and other swathes of the Southeast with torrential rain, flooding and 140-mile-per-hour winds after the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida.
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The death toll from the storm has reached at least 132, according to the Associated Press but could rise as officials take stock of the damage.