New York City Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 1 is mobilizing to deploy a team to help the areas of the Caribbean hit hardest by Hurricane Maria.

Life-threatening winds were whipping through Puerto Rican communities Wednesday as rain continued to fall and power lines were knocked down.

The 27-person team was gearing up from the city's Emergency Management warehouse in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. They were loading tractor-trailers full of equipment that would be flown down to the Caribbean Thursday morning.

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Task force members said they will likely be stationed in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The team flew to Texas to help with relief efforts after Hurricane Harvey hit, and then to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Irma.

News 12 is told that the city anticipates sending more highly trained rescue teams as FEMA requests more help in Puerto Rico or other Caribbean islands.