Into the eye of the storm

Hurricane Isabel's threat may not directly reach Indiana, but residents are still feeling the effects from hundreds of miles away.\nThe Category 2 hurricane is likely a few days from the coast, but preparation for possible flooding and dangerous winds has already begun.\nIndiana Task Force One, a national disaster response team, deployed 28 members of its team Tuesday to Edison, N.J. The team, made up of members from various departments throughout Marion County, is trained to respond in national and man-made disasters. The team includes four subgroups: search, rescue, medical and technical. \nThis particular mission to aid hurricane victims is not the first time the Task Force has been deployed to disaster scenes. The team was called in during the search and rescue efforts after Sept. 11, 2001.\nTeam member Capt. Matt Stewart of the Wayne Township Fire Department was part of the 9/11 team and departed Tuesday to offer his services on the East Coast. \nWayne Township Battalion Chief Rick Batza, said the department is proud of Stewart's leadership and bravery. \nBatza said fire fighters are trained to work in teams, which is one of the most beneficial qualities of during times of crisis.\n"We see it as, the fire service is unique," Batza said. "Firefighters are trained to work together, they function the same and they have a lot of the same ideas and thoughts about life and professionalism. It's a very natural thing."\nBatza said he didn't have a chance to speak to Stewart before he left for Edison, but said Stewart is people-oriented and well known in the fire service.\n"He has a strong responsibility to use his talents to help others. He is an outstanding firefighter. He's very positive about the team. Everyone that works on the teams is very professional and competent."\nMeanwhile, the U.S. Air Force sent about 60 Air Force fighter jets to Grissom Air Reserve Base in Peru, Ind., from its base in Virginia to escape the strong winds and flooding on the coast. \nSome jets stayed behind at Langley Air Base in Virginia, but the base does not have hangers to protect all the planes. Only planes that were under repair stayed, while the rest departed for Grissom, Tuesday.\n"They're multimillion-dollar machines," Capt. Jeff Glenn, spokesman for the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley told The Associated Press. "So the smart thing to do is fly them and let them sit out the storm where it's safe."\nWhile weather in the east begins to develop into strong winds and flood-inducing rain, Indiana will luckily escape any waves of severe weather the hurricane might push on the mainland.\nIndianapolis TV station WRTV Chief Meteorologist Kevin Gregory said any rain that Indiana will experience toward the end of the week is related to a cold front coming through the state, not hurricane backlash.\nThough Indiana is lucky, the weather the coast will experience could be treacherous.\nGregory said coastal winds will be very strong, anything from 100-110 miles an hour.\nRain and flooding will be the most dangerous weather Isabel will develop.\n"There is going to be a tremendous amount of rain, mainly in western Virginia and the peninsula," Gregory said. "In that area, flooding will be more of a problem than wind."\n-- The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact City & State editor Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.