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CPSO receives high water vehicles for search and rescue during flooding

Posted at 4:23 PM, Jul 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-03 11:38:08-04

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says they now have new vehicles for use in search and rescue operations during flooding incidents. 

The department says it recently purchased six high-water vehicles that will be used for "search and rescue, as well as, personnel deployment" during emergency flooding incidents.

Sheriff Tony Mancuso says that these new vehicles will benefit the community especially after several extreme flooding events in the past few years. During Hurricane Harvey, areas of Calcasieu Parish saw flooding with numerous rescues needed.

“This is a substantial investment for our department but we feel it is a necessary investment because of all the flooding incidents we have been experiencing the last several years,” says Sheriff Tony Mancuso. “In the past, we have bought used military surplus vehicles but they were difficult to maintain and very unreliable in an emergency situation. If we learned anything from Hurricane Rita, it was that the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office needs to be self-reliant and our equipment must be functional in an emergency. We cannot afford to wait for assistance from the federal government.”

These vehicles are able to drive through three feet of water and will be positioned throughout the parish.