The building In the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, collapsed early Thursday morning and officials have confirmed that at least one person is dead, many are injured and at least 99 people are unaccounted for. The 12-story building is located in a heavily Orthodox enclave and the Israeli foreign ministry has confirmed that some 20 Jews are among the missing persons.
In light of the situation, many American Jewish communities have come together to help the victims. An online fundraiser launched by The Shul of Bal Harbour, located a mile north of the collapsed building, had raised $240,000 from more than 2,000 donors within hours. That synagogue and another nearby Chabad also put out calls for toiletries, blankets and toys that could be distributed to survivors. Meanwhile, kosher restaurants in the area distributed food to first responders and to those who were displaced from the portion of the building that had not collapsed.
The Greater Miami Jewish Federation launched a campaign to aid the victims, setting up an emergency fund to assist with immediate as well as long-term needs.
In addition, Israel's United Hatzalah in cooperation with El Al will be sending a team from its Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit who will work to provide psychological support and emotional stabilization to those affected by the collapse, including families and neighbors of those who were injured, killed, missing or in any other way involved in the tragedy. United Hatzalah volunteers will also make themselves available to the wider community.The mission will be lead by Vice President of Operations for United Hatzalah Dov Maisal, who has led disaster response missions to Nepal, Haiti and Japan as a paramedic.
Ben Baruch, Philissa Cramera (JTA), Ben Sales (JTA), Asaf Shalev (JTA) and Reuters have contributed to this story.