Rescue teams asking for additional funding [Video]

Task Force 2 leaders said even though they are the most deployed team in the system, they haven’t gotten a bump in funding since 2005.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — They’ve pulled thousands of survivors out of harm’s way when disaster strikes, but now the FEMA National Urban Search and Rescue Response System says they’re the ones that need help.

Mike Hopkins, the Program Manager for Virginia Task Force 2 said even though they are the most deployed team in the system, they haven’t gotten a bump in funding since 2005.

With NOAA issuing its most aggressive hurricane season outlook yet, Hopkins said shoring up their resources is more important than ever.

Team members from Task Force 2 have searched for survivors in the rubble of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 and 9/11 in 2001.

They’ve taken stranded homeowners to safety in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ian in 2022.

“Any type of disaster, whether it’s …