Texas Army National Guard on standby as Texas winter storm rolls in
AUSTIN, Texas - Nathan Dorsey is no stranger to natural disasters.
He vividly remembers responding to Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. "I was out there giving out water, giving out food, pulling people out of the water, things like that," he said.
Now he is preparing for another storm. He is one of 18 Texas Army National Guard members who spent all day Wednesday at their Round Rock armory, packing supplies and preparing vehicles to respond to any incident due to the latest winter storm.
"We are running with some safety vests, we are going to have snow chains for all the tires in each vehicle. There are some shovels back in there. We have a full-size wrecker too so we will be able to pull any vehicle we encounter," said Dorsey.
The guard members are on call 24/7 right now and will respond to any local agency requesting their help. "This preparation looks the same as it did last year. This is what we trained for, this is what we signed up for, to help civilians in a time of need, we train for this every day," said Lt. Brent Duvall.
Not only will they be equipped to respond to accidents and stalled cars, but also medical emergencies. They have a member who does it full time.
"He’s a full time SWAT EMT, so he is going to be our medic for this operation as well," said Dorsey.
The guard members are hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst. "I had a strong desire to serve my country, but I also have a strong desire to serve Texas, because I was born and raised in Texas, so I definitely want to give back to the community and this is my way of doing it," said Duvall.
Track your local forecast for the Austin area quickly with the free FOX 7 WAPP. The design gives you radar, hourly, and 7-day weather information just by scrolling. Our weather alerts will warn you early and help you stay safe during storms.
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