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Kentucky Emergency Management Teams Working Long Hours In Florence Relief Efforts

National Weather Service

The Kentucky Emergency Management sent Swiftwater Search and Rescue teams to assist with Hurricane Florence relief efforts in North Carolina last Wednesday and their work continues. 

Efforts are underway in Laurinburg, North Carolina, where teams have escorted displaced citizens to safe ground. KYEM Director Michael Dossett said that the teams are working long hours - including some twenty hour days.

“But the work is rewarding. This is what they trained for, and this is just a remarkable opportunity for the Commonwealth to sponsor a partnership with a requesting state,” Dossett said.

Dossett said that the states Kentucky is helping throughout the relief efforts are the same states that would come to Kentucky’s aid in the event of an emergency. 

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, managed the requests for aid. This program is a congressional compact between states, and allows for neighboring states to assist each other through mutual aid. 

Shelby Frye is a senior at Murray State University, double majoring in theatre and journalism. She has lived in Murray for four years, but grew up in Paris, Tennessee. When she isn’t working at WKMS, Shelby performs in and works on crew for Murray State Theatre productions, plays Dungeons & Dragons, and keeps her plate full with her dual majors.
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