DALLAS — Rain is pummeling much of eastern Texas with Tropical Storm Beryl. At this point, manpower is needed to help with highwater rescues and emergencies.
"With most hurricane jobs, it's not as much wind as the water," said Jeff Saunders with the Texas A&M Task Force 1. He said more than 160 agencies from across the state have sent help. "They are working out there saving lives as we speak."
Many fire departments from North Texas deployed team members over the weekend.
Dallas Fire Rescue has 21 members assisting. Seven members are with the Swift Water Team staged in Victoria.
"Some of the boat teams will be rescuing people in high water incidents," said Dallas Interim Assistant Fire Chief of Operations Scott Pacot.
With Dallas, one member is staged in College Station for the Texas Task Force 1 Helicopter Asset. Another seven are staged at Martindale Air Force Base outside of San Antonio with Texas Task Force 2. Six members are part of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force.
"It's a state team that is made up of a lot of different cities so it is a great collaborative process that everybody is able to do," said Pacot.
These departments are part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System with Texas A&M Forest Service. They are called for disaster relief.
Grand Prairie Fire Department sent seven members.
"They are able to handle any emergency, whether it is water-related, fire-related or even a medical emergency," said Fire Chief Robert Fite.
Everyone deployed from Grand Prairie is water-rescue trained.
"You pick the city in the Dallas area, and we're just here to help," said Fite.
Grand Prairie formed a strike team with Desoto, Arlington, Midlothian, Fort Worth and College Station Fire Departments.
Fort Worth Fire Department has 18 members deployed, including seven on the dive team. Overall, they specialize in water rescue and recovery, search and rescue, building collapse, and saw teams to clear streets of downed trees.
Several more departments confirmed with WFAA that they have deployed team members, including Plano, Allen, Frisco, Cedar Hill and McKinney.
It varies based on damage, but often teams are sent for 14 days. After the two week mark, if more help is needed, new crews will rotate in to provide relief.