By around midnight of Monday night / Tuesday, the convoy of Hatzolah ambulances from NY headed to Florida was around 250 miles away from Miami.

As YWN reported, a convoy of Hatzolah ambulances from the NY area was dispatched to Miami to assist in the relief efforts following Hurricane Irma. The group departed on Sunday night from the Flatbush Hatzolah Garage on Ocean Avenue.

In a statement released by Chevra Hatzolah, the organization says that a much larger response had been planned, but with the storm taking a turn west, a decision was made to reduce the response.

The current team consists of two ambulances from Catskills Hatzolah, one ambulance from Boro Park Hatzolah, one ambulance from Canarsie Hatzolah, and a few support vehicles – including SUV’s, and trailers carrying ATV’s.

Around 25 Hatzolah members are part of the team, including Paramedics, EMT’s – as well as a Physician from NY who is licensed in Florida as well.

Getting fuel was in itself a big deal, as many gas stations along the way are out of fuel. Miami Hatzalah was arranging fuel at various locations along the route.

Meanwhile, Miami Hatzalah was busy around the clock responding to calls from elderly people who had no power, food and running out of medication. They hope that the team from NY will be able to greatly assist them in the next few days.

The convoy was a welcome sight to many on the road as well. The following three images were taken on the I-95 by people who had evacuated to Atlanta ahead of the storm and were driving back to Miami.

The following is the statement released by Chevra Hatzalah:

Chevra Hatzalah, together with Lakewood Hatzalah, Monsey Hatzalah, Kiryas Joel Hatzalah and Baltimore Hatzalah, have been closely monitoring Hurricane Irma. We have all been preparing for the past few days to send Ambulances, EMTs and Paramedics to Miami at the request of Miami Hatzalah.

Due to the decrease in the storm severity, we have scaled our response appropriately. In conjunction with Miami Hatzalah and at the request and with the approval of the State of Florida, Chevra Hatzalah has 4 ambulances, a few support vehicles, as well as 20 EMTs, Paramedics and physicians en-route to Miami. The response team should be arriving in
Miami late tonight.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected by Hurricane Irma.

(Charles Gross – YWN)