VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - 45 members from Virginia Task Force 2 returned home to Virginia Beach. It’s been a mission of mercy providing relief for the many citizens suffering in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Several families were reunited with their loved ones when Task Force members returned home.
"It was really good to see him again. The girls didn’t know he was coming home today so it was a good surprise to them," Dana Snead said, the wife of a Task Force member.
Keith Snead and other members of the task force were deployed to Louisiana on August 27.
"The first couple of days, we were able to make a few rescues and get some people out who were affected by the flood and damage. Then we went in and did some damage assessment making sure there was no one trapped," Keith Snead said.
The Task Force checked more than 4,000 structures to ensure safety for people impacted by the storm.
"Flooding wasn’t so bad there. We were dealing with wind and tree damage. We were staged in Lafayette, Louisiana and then working in a town called Hammond, Louisiana which is north of New Orleans," Snead said.
One wife of a Task Force member says she wasn't expecting her husband home so early.
"We were really excited. I didn’t let them know so it was a surprise. I told them when we were parking that he was going to be coming off the bus," Melissa said.
The family says they look forward to spending time with their hero who helped so many families in Louisiana.
