US search and rescue teams deploy to help Venezuela earthquake response
Teams from various U.S. states are assisting Venezuela in recovering from two powerful earthquakes near Caracas, which have caused over 900 deaths and injured more than 3,300 people. The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes, are among the strongest in over a century. International rescue efforts include teams from Florida, Virginia, and california, along with faith-based groups. U.S. officials, including President donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have offered support, including sending rescue personnel and equipment. The Venezuelan government has expressed gratitude for the aid.Rescue operations are ongoing,with fears that the death toll might rise further as the critical initial 72-hour period passes.
Teams from California to Florida are helping Venezuelans rebound from devastating earthquakes that killed over 900 people, according to the latest death toll figures authorities announced on Friday.
Search and rescue operations are entering their third full day, after Venezuelan officials estimated at least 920 people were killed and over 3,300 were injured from a pair of powerful earthquakes that shook Caracas on Wednesday evening. With magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, the earthquakes are among the strongest to rock the country in over a century.
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International rescue teams, including groups from the U.S., have been deployed to help the embattled country as it grapples with the devastation caused by the earthquakes in the capital and nearby cities. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio called to offer their support, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez said Friday evening, including by sending rescue workers, “specialist equipment, support for temporary shelters and humanitarian aid for the affected families.”
“We are deeply grateful for this gesture of friendship and cooperation,” Rodriguez said, after Rubio’s State Department activated a third urban search and rescue team to help with recovery operations.
The State Department has power to activate “task forces” from each state to respond to such emergencies.
The teams from Florida Task Force 1 and 2 in Miami-Dade County consist of 80 personnel and six canine teams.
“Every single person that lives in Miami knows someone, a friend or family member, that is in Venezuela,” Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins said, referencing the area’s strong Venezuelan diaspora. “We are scared for them, and we are worried for them.”
They join two other task forces from the U.S. that have been activated to head to Venezuela. A team from Virginia landed in the South American country on Friday, bringing firefighters, doctors, and structural engineers as well as search-and-rescue canines.
Several faith-based groups from Virginia are also helping out in Venezuela, alongside Virginia Task Force 1. They include Operation Blessing and Mercy Chefs, which sent feeding teams to respond to the disaster.
In California, the Los Angeles County Firefighters International Urban Search and Rescue team has been deployed as part of U.S. aid operations. The group consists of 71 search-and-rescue experts, six K-9 teams, and 84,000 pounds of critical equipment.
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“First thing that we’re expecting is a lower level of resources, and we don’t know what state those resources are in after the earthquake,” LA County Fire Captain Aaron Katon told KTLA. “So we’re really going in expecting the unexpected, but ready to do the job that we do every day.”
The death toll is expected to climb even higher once the 72-hour mark from when the earthquakes hit occurs on Saturday evening.
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