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Gov. Hogan directs national guard to Puerto Rico

Posted at 6:31 AM, Oct 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-02 06:31:08-04

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is making national guard resources available to help Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The governor's directive on Friday came after conversations with the Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, and other communications between staff-level officials.

Hogan has authorized the deployment of a 26-member detachment of the Maryland National Guard's 29th Combat Aviation Brigade. The governor's office says it will deploy for potentially 60 days to conduct water purification with two tactical systems that can each purify 1,200 gallons of water an hour.

Maryland now has a mission deployed to Florida to support response and recovery operations there. The state has recently completed five support missions in Texas and Florida following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, respectively.