{"id":321524,"date":"2026-06-27T04:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321524\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T04:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T04:26:10","slug":"helping-venezuela-miami-search-and-rescue-team-prepares-to-deploy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/321524\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Venezuela: Miami search-and-rescue team prepares to deploy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text text--small text--normal text--primary\">Published:\u00a0June 27, 2026 at 12:07 AM<\/p>\n<p>lead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpand<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/276KWOYUTHSOZQGYF75TFLJH5U.jpg\"  width=\"8374\" height=\"4710\"\/>Residents walks through the rubble two days after earthquakes struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Fernando Vergara\/AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">MIAMI \u2014 Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins announced on Friday that the city\u2019s fire rescue personnel were preparing to deploy to Venezuela\u2019s disaster zone. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also met with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel, who were also packing for deployment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cThis is something that is important work. We have one of the most well-trained, committed teams in the United States,\u201d Higgins said, according to a video the city released <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityofMiami\/status\/2070677350207922642\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityofMiami\/status\/2070677350207922642\">on Friday night<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The U.S. State Department activated Florida Task Force 2, or FL-TF2, an urban search-and-rescue team of about 230, including physicians, structural engineers, hazardous material technicians, and K-9 handlers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s devastating what happened in Venezuela, so we are making sure that they have the support that they need, and we are going to send a team of 80 people,\u201d Miami Commissioner Rolando Escalona said, according to the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityofMiami\/status\/2070677350207922642\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityofMiami\/status\/2070677350207922642\">video published on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The State Department also activated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamidade.gov\/global\/fire\/urban-search-and-rescue.page\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.miamidade.gov\/global\/fire\/urban-search-and-rescue.page\">Florida Task Force 1<\/a>, MDFR Chief Raied \u201cRay\u201d Jadallah\u2019s team, which has experience working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">After the devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck late Wednesday, the Trump administration first announced the deployment of search-and-rescue teams from California and Virginia. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Related list: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.local10.com\/news\/local\/2026\/06\/26\/how-to-help-south-florida-donation-drop-off-locations-to-help-venezuelans-after-earthquakes\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.local10.com\/news\/local\/2026\/06\/26\/how-to-help-south-florida-donation-drop-off-locations-to-help-venezuelans-after-earthquakes\/\">Drop-off locations in South Florida<\/a><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, City of Miami leadership stood alongside Miami Fire Rescue personnel designated for deployment to Venezuela following a series of devastating earthquakes. The City reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to humanitarian relief as the federal government\u2019s activation of USAR\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/C2ul3VEOiT\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/C2ul3VEOiT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 City of Miami (@CityofMiami) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CityofMiami\/status\/2070677350207922642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">June 27, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">More <a href=\"https:\/\/www.local10.com\/topic\/Helping_Venezuela\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.local10.com\/topic\/Helping_Venezuela\/\">HELPING VENEZUELA<\/a> coverage <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782534369_385_FK75XBP7FHKCVJ5MKA6PI4MJFM.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Venezuela Survivors walk on Friday near a toy that was abandoned in the rubble of an apartment building in Catia La Mar, Venezuela. (AP Foto\/Fernando Vergara) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Fernando Vergara\/AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782534369_384_WZ2ZPXTVTBLOMG35HO6MYN5OHU.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>APTOPIX Venezuela Earthquake Rescue workers aid Daniel Cordero after pulling him from the rubble two days after an earthquake struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Fernando Vergara\/AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782534370_744_6VECRMMLLUMEHY2FKOYBIU2HEA.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"532\"\/>Venezuela Earthquake Venezuelan Police searches through the rubble two days after earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Ariana Cubillos\/AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782534370_296_43W22GXLVKGNIS3TLNWBHOHQ6M.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>APTOPIX Venezuela Earthquake Rescue workers place Daniel Cordero on a stretcher after pulling him from the rubble two days after an earthquake struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Fernando Vergara\/AP Photo\/Fernando Vergara) <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782534370_83_A5N4MQAIL7IXNN3SNMYNICVCEE.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Venezuela Earthquake Members of a religious organization distribute food to people affected two days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Ariana Cubillos\/AP Photo\/Ariana Cubillos) <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-article-body__copyright\">Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Andrea Torres\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/https:\/\/author-service-images-sandbox-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub\/wplginc\/83a8effa-fc87-4940-96.jpeg\"  width=\"100\" height=\"100\"\/>Andrea Torres<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-author-bio__author-description\">The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published:\u00a0June 27, 2026 at 12:07 AM lead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpandResidents walks through the rubble two days after earthquakes struck Catia La&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-321524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}