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How DC-area residents can help those impacted by Venezuela earthquakes

As the death toll in Venezuela rises after Wednesday’s powerful, back-to-back earthquakes, some groups in the D.C. area are on the front lines helping out.

In a , Virginia’s Task Force 1 team was captured removing a woman and her nine-month-old baby from the rubble of a collapsed structure.

Cheers erupt as the team of volunteers carry the woman out on a stretcher. Both the mother and baby suffered minor injuries.

The rescue team, which includes first responders from the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, was deployed to northern Venezuela alongside a similar rescue group from California.

Latest figures show the death toll from the earthquakes has already exceeded 1,400 people, as families reported nearly 70,000 people missing as of Saturday.

DC groups come together to help

Locally, several D.C.-area establishments have hosted donation drives, collecting a — like soap and toothpaste — intended to be shipped to Venezuela.

Over the weekend, , hosted events at all three of its locations in Northwest D.C., College Park, Maryland, and in Virginia’s Fairfax County. By Sunday, the donation goal was reached by organizers.

Similar donation targets set by and were also met.

Resident looking to help out in any way are urged to monitor posts issued by the eateries as new donation goals could be set in the coming days.

“Please be on the lookout for posts by Arepa Zone, there’ll be a great resource for the D.C. community on when and what is needed,” one donor told ݮý. “Even if things are paused right now, I’m sure at some point you’ll see something about again needing more donations.”

“I bought gauze, I bought gloves, I bought a ton of ibuprofen, and a lot of pads, because I’m imagining so many women won’t have access to just like period things that they need, so I got like 400 pads,” the donor said.

Groups like the International Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, Global Impact and many other organizations are accepting monetary support as well.

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Grace Newton

Grace Newton is an Associate Producer at ݮý. She also works as an associate producer for NPR ݮýcast. Grace was born and raised in North Carolina but has lived in D.C. since 2018. Grace graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in art history in 2022.

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