New York Sends National Guard To Help With Hurricane Michael

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state is dispatching National Guard personnel and aircraft to Florida and Mississippi to assist with the response to Hurricane Michael.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo says 75 airmen with the Long Island-based 106th Rescue Wing are leaving for Gulfport, Mississippi on Thursday, along with a search and rescue airplane and helicopter and two inflatable rescue boats.

Meanwhile, the New York Army National Guard is preparing to dispatch two Chinook helicopters to Tallahassee, Florida. along with up to 20 Guard members.

The storm is expected to make landfall on Florida's panhandle later Wednesday.

Cuomo says New York stands "ready, willing and able" to assist southern states as the region responds to and recovers from the storm.