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2023 SESSION

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23106417D
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 427 Offered February 22, 2023 Commending Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1. ---------- Patron-- Kory ----------

WHEREAS, Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1, a Federal Emergency Management Agency task force based in Fairfax County, deployed to Turkey and Syria to assist an international rescue and recovery effort after two major earthquakes in 2023; and

WHEREAS, on February 6, 2023, a 7.8Mw earthquake, one of the worst seismic events in the region in 100 years, occurred in the Gaziantep Province, Turkey; a few hours later a 7.5Mw earthquake struck the nearby Kahramanmaras Province; and

WHEREAS, communities in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria were severely affected, with more than 5,000 reported building collapses and initial casualty estimates in the thousands; and

WHEREAS, Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 is sponsored by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and comprises about 200 specially trained career and volunteer firefighters with expertise in excavation and rescue operations in collapsed structures; and

WHEREAS, working with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 deployed a team of 79 people and six dogs, who arrived in Turkey on February 8 for this international mission; and

WHEREAS, Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 will coordinate with a multinational coalition of rescue workers to enhance the response to this catastrophic event; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 hereby be commended for its deployment in response to the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1 as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for the unit’s service and sacrifices.