ALBANY -- New York is sending 10 Blackhawk helicopters and 55 Army National Guard members to Florida to assist with Hurricane Irma.
The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters departed from Army facilities in Rochester, Long Island and the Albany area. They were flying to Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, and arriving in Jacksonville on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
The soldiers are with the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade.
Also, airmen from the 105th Airlift Wing based in Newburgh deployed a seven-person team as part of a satellite communications unit to Mississippi to help with the hurricane response, and a rescue plane based on Long Island was sent to help transport personnel from the Kentucky Air National Guard to Florida.
"As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida and its neighbors, New York will continue to do all it can to provide resources and assistance to these affected communities," Cuomo said in a statement.
The latest missions follow several other recent deployments.
On Saturday, a C-130 cargo plane was deployed from the Albany-area 109th Airlift Wing with medical supplies to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Thirty-five National Guard were sent in advance of Hurricane Irma to help Florida's emergency response, bringing six boats for water-rescue operations and equipment for other search-and-rescue missions.
Meanwhile, SUNY officials on Monday said the public college system raised more than $30,000 for Hurricane Harvey that hit the Houston area last month.
A SUNY Maritime College training ship, the Empire State VI, was loaded Saturday in the Bronx with supplies for Texas, including food and bottled water.
