As printed in the Houston Chronicle on January 18, 2010:
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — An elite search and rescue team from Texas will not fly to earthquake-devastated Haiti and has been demobilized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Texas Engineering Extension Service in College Station on Monday said the United Nations mission in Haiti has declared that search and rescue teams in the country are sufficient.
Texas Task Force One was called up by Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday, two days after a massive earthquake rocked the Port-au-Prince area. The urban search and rescue team from Texas, with about 80 personnel, plus search dogs, had been on standby in Houston since then. Flights in and out of Haiti’s capital city airport, which suffered damage, have been limited, with commercial service halted to clear the way for military and other recovery flights.
This is not unique situation. Ohio Task Force-1 and Massachusetts Task Force-1 were both recalled. The main reason some of the teams, including Texas Task Force-1 are not heading to Haiti is “lack of space.” Because the airport has only one runway, it has been tough getting planes on the ground. Once the support teams arrive, it is equally as difficult to move the personnel and supplies because of the conditions of Haiti’s roadways.