Do you know about these Texas teams?

During any declared disaster or emergency, TX-TF1 also works closely with a number of Texas state agencies - including the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and its Game Wardens, the General Land Office, the Texas Forest Service and Texas Military Forces.

TX-TF1 was created following the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City to provide response to disasters. TX-TF1 is one of more than two dozen national urban search and rescue teams in the country credentialed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They respond to both state and national emergencies. The Texas group is part of the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), which is the agency responsible for search and rescue missions under the state's Emergency Management Plan.

Team training takes place at TEEK's Disaster City® - a more than 50-acre, $6.2 million training facility located in College Station on Texas A&M System property. Within the facility there is also a state-of-the-art training simulation facility which is a $3.2 million Emergency Operations Training Center.

Since its inception, TX-TF1 has assisted in numerous emergency and disaster events, including the 1998 Del Rio floods, the Texas A&M University Bonfire collapse in 1999, the Fort Worth tornado in 2000, Houston flooding in 2001, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia recovery and hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005.

Earlier this week, TX-TF1 liaisons were deployed to North Texas because of predictions of severe weather. Had emergency situations arisen from weather events, the team would have used some of its approximately $2 million in supplies, including specialized equipment such as hydraulic jacks, high-tech listening devices, victim location devices, specialized medical equipment and equipment for dealing with hazardous materials.

Task force members also carry their own supplies - items such as helmets, elbow and knee pads, sleeping bags, lip balm, sun screen, hand sanitizer, rain gear and garbage bags.

TX-TF1 could see duty in this year's hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Last year, 416 fatalities were reported as a result of Atlantic hurricanes, with damages totaling $7.5 billion. The 2008 forecast is for a "well above average" hurricane season with 15 named storms, eight hurricanes and four intense hurricanes predicted.