TAMPA, Fla. — Nearly 200 people are dead and thousands more are still missing after a pair of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela Wednesday night.
People in the Tampa Bay area with ties to Venezuela are trying desperately to contact their loved ones and get them help.
The efforts to help get resources to Venezuela are underway at a center in Tampa, thanks in partnership between the Venezuela USA Foundation and Boricuas de Corazon.
One woman said that they’ll need all the help they can get.
Norma Reno lives in the Tampa Bay area but has been in Venezuela for the past two months finishing her studies. She said when the earthquake hit, she didn’t know the severity of the damage.
It wasn’t until she saw her friends posting on social media that she was able to see the damage. While it was a scary situation to live through, she says the area she was in wasn’t hit as hard as other areas.
She says her community needs as much help as it can get.
“The situation in Venezuela is very bad, and now with this earthquake (it is) so terrible, and people (are) losing everything,” Reno said. “What are they going to do?”
Reno believes Venezuelans are being left without answers.
“The government is not saying anything. We don’t know anything. We need information. We need where to go, how to get help, but we don’t know, and that’s a problem we are facing right now,” she said.
The Venezuela USA Foundation has partnered with Boricuas de Corazon to help, they’re collecting things like first aid kits, hygiene products, emergency radios and much more.
They say the next step will be to collect clothing for families who may have lost everything in the natural disaster.
Norma has been putting out information on social media and providing updates on the situation, as well as sharing ways that families can get connected to their loved ones in Venezuela.
The Venezuela USA Foundation will continue accepting donations at 5120 Kelly Road in Tampa Monday through Saturday.