PITTSBURGH - Imagine everything in your house – furniture, family heirlooms – floating away in a flood. Then imagine your house floating away in it, too.
To call it ‘bleak’ is an understatement.
However, that is the terror many experienced in September when hurricanes Ian and Fiona devastated Puerto Rico and the southeastern corner of the United States.
To make matters worse, flooding and other damage caused by hurricanes cut the regions’ power, limiting those affected from essential infrastructures such as hospitals and running water.
However, disaster response is one mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District’s missions. Its teams provide temporary emergency power to essential infrastructure.
When a disaster occurs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declares an emergency, coordinates with the district to deploy teams to impacted areas, and sends temporary emergency generators for deployed teams to set up. Military personnel and civilian employees make up the teams who volunteer to step away from their daily lives to help devastated communities regain their sense of normalcy.
“It’s selfless service. It takes someone who knows that people elsewhere in the country are without power,” said Al Coglio, the Emergency Management chief for the Pittsburgh District. “And when they get on the ground, they act to help them.”
Pittsburgh District has 55 volunteers trained and ready to deploy. Therefore, when a FEMA request arrives, teams are prepared to get on a plane or hit the road within six hours. “Everyone is busy. We all have things going on in our personal lives that make it inconvenient to leave on such short order. So therefore, I have a great deal of respect for our civilian and military personnel who raise their hand to serve with our PRTs and help those in need,” said Col. Adam Czekanski, commander of the Pittsburgh District. “They don’t have to do it, but they make the sacrifice to help others.”
Pittsburgh District had teams on the ground with temporary generators in Puerto Rico, Saint Croix and Saint Thomas a day before Hurricane Fiona hit land. Throughout September and October, more than 200 people deployed to Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to help with the response.
Additionally, four members of the Readiness Team stayed in the Pittsburgh District office along with five activated members of the Crisis Action Team to coordinate mission support.
Like the volunteers who deploy, Crisis Action Team members remain “on-call” as a collateral duty, meaning they pause their full-time jobs within the district to respond to a crisis.
“I just think it takes a special kind of person to step up and jump into the unknown because you don’t know if it’s a week or two months,” said Coglio. “They’ve been gone for up to 45, 50, 75, 100 days. So, that’s tough to ask people to do.”
The power team oversees contractors responsible for providing generators to areas in need and installing, refueling, and maintaining them until removing the generators when the mission is over.
In addition to the Pittsburgh District’s efforts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has deployed hundreds of people to coordinate with local, state and federal partners in affected areas. Their priority continues to be the safety and well-being of those affected by hurricanes Ian and Fiona. Their mission includes providing temporary roofing and removing excess water from flooded areas.
“Mr. Rogers, a Pittsburgh native, said in any chaotic situation, always look for the helpers, and that’s what these folks are,” said Coglio.