The dust has yet to settle on the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti but already Miamians are reaching out to help in any way they can.
With one of the largest Haitian-American communities in the country, the catastrophe in Haiti is weighing heavy on the hearts and minds of locals, who are rallying aid for the island nation.
The Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue's Urban Search and Rescue team is on standby, its 75-man force ready to deploy to Haiti. The USAR is one of the most well-known and renowned teams in the country, and has responded to several natural disasters throughout the globe.
Two U.S. Coast Guard planes based in Miami have also left for the country, sending a team of engineers and other port specialists to Haiti.
In addition, five doctors from University of Miami and Jackson's Ryder Trauma are in Port-au-Prince Haiti. They left Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport early this afternoon, taking medical equipment. The group, led by Miami Project neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green, will be helping the federal government establish a field hospital. It's expected some injured could be flown to South Florida as early as tonight for treatment.
And Governor Charlie Crist, speaking in Miami, said the state is all set to provide tons of relief, with meals, cots, blankets and other necessities.
"Our thoughts and our prayers obviously go out to the people of Haiti," Crist said. "Haiti is a neighbor of ours, a neighbor of Florida's."
For locals seeking information on friends and relatives in Haiti, a communications and information hub is being operated out of the Edison Little River Neighborhood Center located at 150 Northwest 79th Street in Little Haiti.
Organizations throughout South Florida are looking for cash donations, food and water and clothing to send to Haiti. Here is a list of places to donate and where to get more information concerning relatives in Haiti.
