INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Task Force 1 has arrived safely in the Florida Panhandle ahead of Hurricane Helene, which is expected to make landfall Thursday evening.

INTF-1 was activated this week by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support search and rescue efforts. The 80-person team departed Tuesday and was in place by Wednesday evening, according to a Facebook post.

“We’re there to assist the locals with any needs. They’re most likely going to be overwhelmed with the storm surge with the storm coming through. We obviously work with and for them when we get there so as the need arises we will be ready to fill in a void and help out,” Jay Settergen, battalion chief with the Indianapolis Fire Department, told News 8 on Tuesday.

Hurricane Helene is strengthening as it moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and forecasters predict it could be a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130-156 mph when it makes landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee says storm surges could reach 20 feet in the state’s northwest.

Helene is expected to bring damaging winds, rains, and flash floods hundreds of miles inland. Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning far beyond the coast up into south central Georgia and the governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have all declared emergencies in their states.

The remnants of Helene are expected to reach central Indiana on Friday, with rainy, windy conditions possible into the weekend.