ST. PAUL, MN – Governor Mark Dayton today authorized a team of 16 Minnesota emergency management professionals to head to Florida, as that state faces Hurricane Irma. Governor Dayton approved a request for assistance through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) for a Type III Incident Management Team to help with response and recovery efforts.

 

“I thank the brave women and men who will travel to Florida from Minnesota, to assist in response and recovery efforts,” said Governor Dayton. “I encourage all Minnesotans who are able to contribute to qualified relief efforts. Minnesota stands ready to assist those affected by Hurricane Irma in any way we are able.”

 

The Minnesota All Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT) will be deployed to Florida from September 8 – September 25 and includes a representative from each of the following agencies:

 

 

The team will help coordinate Florida’s hurricane response in the state’s Emergency Operations Center, providing assistance with planning, logistics, and resource request processing. Some may be sent to individual counties depending on the state’s needs, but most will be based in Tallahassee.

 

Each member of the team has completed training in their respective disciplines and many are certified as Minnesota Emergency Managers with previous local, state and national deployment experience.

 

Additional information about the Minnesota All Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT).

 

EMAC is a mutual aid agreement between all 50 states. A requesting state asks for resources (people, equipment, etc.) based on their needs. Agencies in other states with those resources are able to respond to a request, but there is no obligation to participate. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management division coordinates the state’s EMAC requests.

 

Additional information about EMAC is available at https://www.emacweb.org/.