Georgia deploys Air National Guard crew to Houston

Highways around downtown Houston are empty as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey overflow from the bayous around the city Tuesday in Houston. AP/David J. Phillip

Credit: Jim Galloway

Credit: Jim Galloway

Highways around downtown Houston are empty as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey overflow from the bayous around the city Tuesday in Houston. AP/David J. Phillip

Gov. Nathan Deal has authorized a Georgia Air National Guard unit to head to storm-battered Texas and help with the recovery of Hurricane Harvey.

The governor's order dispatched a C-130 cargo aircraft and crew from the 165th Airlift Wing to a Texas air base to help deploy people, equipment and supplies across the flood-ravaged Houston area.

Georgia joins a growing cadre of states that have sent Guard units to hard-hit areas around Houston to offer their manpower and equipment amid the growing crisis. Deal's announcement came a day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mobilized all 12,000 members of the Texas National Guard.