BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana National Guard soldiers who were helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria have returned home.
More than 300 engineer, military police and air traffic control units were deployed to the island for a month. The National Guard announced Thursday that the troops have completed their work in Puerto Rico and are back in Louisiana.
Soldiers cleared fallen trees, moved gravel to build dams and helped restore running water by removing debris from channels. They distributed food and water, assisted local law enforcement with patrols and helped run operations at an airport used to bring in supplies.
Costs for the Louisiana National Guard assistance are covered by Puerto Rico under an emergency management compact.
Louisiana also launched a donation drive for needed items for the island.
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