North Shore Earthquake Rescue Team on Standby

Members of Massachusetts Task Force 1, an urban search and rescue team headquartered in Beverly, were making preparations to head to Japan early on Friday.

But by day’s end, the team’s Program Manager Mark Foster said most of the team members had headed home but remained on standby.

A magnitude 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the main coast of Japan early Friday.

Based on a rotation list established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the local team was number six in line nationwide, with teams from Virginia and Los Angeles “in process” to leave.

“They are in the assessment stage right now,” Foster said.

If the Beverly team – whose members come from all across New England- are activated, the team will be ready to go in six hours. They will head to Pease International Tradeport in New Hampshire or Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford.

The team's headquarters are next to Beverly Airport and includes members from Boston, Gloucester, Natick and Salem.

The team was created in 1991 after the Loma Prieta Earthquake in California in 1989. But since then, the team hasn’t been to many earthquakes.

Instead, it has been to everything from Ground Zero after Sept. 11, to a dam break in New Hampshire.

“Our unit is really configured for earthquakes,” he said.

Most recently, the team was activated after the Haiti earthquake last year. The Massachusetts team got to Florida before FEMA cut back its response.

“It’s been a while since we have been to an earthquake,” he said, noting he didn’t recall an earthquake response in the past five to 10 years.