Venezuelan relief efforts continue across South Florida

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — This week marks one month since Venezuela’s deadliest disaster in decades.

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Thousands are living in tents and the search for missing loved ones is far from over after officials said 5,546 people have died following the twin earthquakes that struck the country late last month.

Thousands of people are still unaccounted for.

To help all of the people left homeless, organizations and small businesses here in South Florida continue to hold fundraisers to send aid and money back to Venezuela.

Dozens gathered Saturday at the Palace Bar and Restaurant in Miami Beach for a fundraiser featuing live DJ’s, a charity raffle, and other events, with all proceeds going to Venezuela through the Global Empowerment Mission.

Organizers said their efforts to help people in Venezuela aren’t slowing down any time soon.

Also on Saturday, the Miami Marlins announced that, along with their fans, the team raised thousands of dollars through the sale of jerseys.

The money will also go to the Global Empowerment Mission to help deliver tons of aid to Venezuela, as well as to the We Love Foundation.

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In the country’s capital of Caracas, people attended a mass on Friday to pray for the victims of the earthquakes.

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez called for a moment of silence after the 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes killed thousands of people and left many more homeless.

The world bank estimates direct physical damage at $19.6 billion but said the total cost of rebuilding could be twice that amount or even more.

These earthquakes are the country’s deadliest since 1812. They also struck at a time when Venezuela was already facing severe economic challenges.

The world bank says more than 76% of the population was living in poverty before the disaster.

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