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The Miami-Dade Fire Department announced this Saturday that its elite unit Florida Task Force 1 is preparing to travel to Venezuela after being officially activated by the U.S. Department of State as a response team to the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.
"Since the moment we learned of this tragedy, our team has remained on alert, ready to respond. Many in our community have family, friends, and loved ones in Venezuela, making this mission particularly significant," posted Miami-Dade Fire Rescue on its official account.
The task force consists of 80 specialists in Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Type I, which includes six canine search teams.
The team operates in 19 specialized functional areas: command and control, technical search, structural assessment and stabilization, planning, advanced medical care, hazardous materials mitigation, tactical communications, logistics, security, and technical rescue, among others.
This Saturday, the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, and Commissioner Bermúdez visited the team to offer encouragement and support before deployment, in an event that included a press conference in front of the official panel of Florida Task Force 1.
"Thank you to Mayor Daniella and Commissioner Bermúdez for taking the time to visit our team today, offering their encouragement and showing their support as we prepare to respond to the call," stated the fire department.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck Venezuela with just 39 seconds apart, with their epicenter in the state of Yaracuy, and were classified by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) as the most powerful recorded in that country since 1900.
The official toll at the close of this edition stands at 920 dead and over 3,360 injured, while the UN estimates that 6.76 million people have been affected, including nearly two million residents of Caracas.
This Saturday, a replica with a magnitude of 4.9 was also recorded, adding to more than 200 aftershocks since the disaster.
Among the missing are at least 29 Cubans, primarily concentrated in La Guaira, including two children who are siblings originally from Mayabeque.
The international response has been extensive: more than 16 countries have sent aid, with over 1,000 rescuers deployed in Venezuelan territory.
President Trump authorized 150 million dollars in humanitarian assistance, while Southern Command mobilized the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings to support rescue operations.
Florida Task Force 1 has a proven track record of international missions, having previously responded to earthquakes in Mexico, El Salvador, Armenia, the Philippines, Colombia, Turkey, and Haiti, in addition to a prior deployment in Venezuela during the Cariaco earthquake in 1997.
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