FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Virginia Task Force 1 is back home in the Commonwealth.
The FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, which is based in Fairfax County, Virginia, is made up of emergency managers and planners, physicians and paramedics. The group was sent to provide aid in Turkey following a deadly magnitude 7.8 quake that hit on Feb. 6.
Rescue teams toiled through the night in Turkey and Syria, searching for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by the catastrophic earthquake. The Feb. 6 quake has killed nearly 45,000 people in both countries — the vast majority of them in Turkey. Turkish authorities have recorded more than 6,000 aftershocks since.
On Feb. 8, the team consisting of 79 team members ranging from first responders and doctors to engineers and specialists, along with six search and rescue dogs, headed to Syria and Turkey.
According to a tweet from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, crews spent 11 days searching for earthquake survivors.
While Virginia Task Force 1 is back home, members of USAID's Disaster Response Team will remain to help aid the millions of people who were injured or displaced in Turkey and Syria.
"As our team departs, we are humbled by the strength and graciousness of the people of Türkiye," Virginia Task Force 1 tweeted. "We wish you the best as you rebuild and recover."
One task force member described the experience as eye-opening.
"Seeing what earthquakes can do in pictures, in media and then being on the ground and actually seeing it first-hand, it was very, very eye-opening. It was a lot to take in. But given the resources, the structure and the training that USAID has given us, we went right to work," Andrew Johnson said.
World Central Kitchen, a non-profit group based in DC -- has been on the ground in Turkey -- providing meals to survivors.
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