Ohio troops mobilized to help as another hurricane nears Florida

With troops, equipment and other state personnel in North Carolina dealing with the aftermath of one hurricane, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday afternoon more National Guard troops have been activated to help with Hurricane Milton in Florida.

National Weather Service predicted late Monday afternoon the Category 5 hurricane to make landfall Wednesday evening in the Tampa area with strong winds, massive storm surge and heavy rain.

It’s expected to continue across the panhandle at hurricane strength with mega-populated areas like Orlando in its path.

DeWine said three dozen members of the Ohio Guard are now active to support Florida’s effort in the storm’s aftermath.

“As Florida recovers from one hurricane and braces for another, Ohio is answering the call to help Gov. [Ron] DeSantis and the entire state," DeWine said. "Forty members of the 200th Redhorse Squadron are proactively heading to Florida in advance of what is expected to be another catastrophic storm."

Florida requested this assistance from Ohio under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national mutual aid partnership agreement allowing state-to-state assistance during state or federally declared emergencies.

“Ohio continues to be ready to help our fellow states in a time of need,” said Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general. “The 200th Redhorse Squadron is trained to provide a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, civil engineering response force that is self-sufficient to perform heavy damage repair.”