MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – South Florida has made it a priority to deal with hurricanes quickly and efficiently. Now, that expertise is being deployed to the Mid-Atlantic states to help as Hurricane Irene closes in on the area.

Florida Power & Light sent 100 employees and contractors to the Baltimore area Saturday morning to give support to local recovery efforts following Hurricane Irene.

“We are prepared to send additional help if it’s needed,” said Greg Brostowicz of FPL.

FPL has sent resources to other area devastated by severe weather, including most recently to help Alabama try to recover from the destructive tornadoes that ravaged the state in April.

In addition to FPL, 12 emergency managers from Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties left for New York to assist the state with any possible problems Irene could cause this weekend.

Preparations for Irene were in place throughout the East Coast including the unprecedented move to shutdown public transportation in New York City at noon Saturday.

Hurricane Irene made landfall in North Carolina around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. It was a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 85 miles per hour when it first made landfall on the U.S. mainland.