By MATTHEW LEE | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The United States is deploying several dozen disaster relief workers, including an urban search and rescue team from Los Angeles County, to Caribbean island nations as they deal with devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Disaster Assistance Response Team personnel from Washington and regional hubs in Miami and Costa Rica as well as the urban search and rescue crews from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Virginia, are en route to the region, three State Department officials said Wednesday.

They are expected to arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours and join up with local staff in Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, where they will be based to offer help in neighboring Haiti, according to the officials, who spoke to reporters

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