AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Military Department teamed up with aviation crews across Texas to train for a crisis like Hurricane Harvey.

Conducting Search and Rescue Exercises, or SAREX. Austin police officers, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and crews from outside the state gathered for training at Camp Mabry on Wednesday.

The Military Department says lives were saved in Houston last year thanks to this exercise.

 

"Multiple agencies respond to rescue people and help people out so therefore it's just vital for us to train as we would go do this in the real world,” Sgt. Malcolm McClendon with the Texas Military Forces said. “So this helps us to better communicate, better be prepared. We get to know our partners, they get to know us."

 

The training isn't just for aviation crews. Ground crews also practiced guiding people in the air to their next rescue.