SURFSIDE, Fla. — The search continues for those unaccounted for in the collapse of a Surfside condominium.
Recovery efforts in the Surfside building collapse is hitting close to home. As of Sunday night, more than 150 people remain unaccounted for. Multiple agencies have descended on the area to help in any way they can, like Rabbi Mendy Levy who arrived in Surfside on Friday.
“We’re hanging on to every bit of hope that we can and we’re praying to God that we endure miracles very soon," he says. “It’s been so heart wrenching to see what the families are going through and knowing that we can’t do more. Everyone is calling every moment- they want to help, they want to give, they want to do more and we just wish we can do more. We wish that we can get positive answers to the families quicker but, unfortunately, that’s not the reality on the ground right now.”
The incident in Surfside has left many shaken, including those within the Jewish community. Rabbi Levy has aided in previous search and rescue efforts but what’s happened in Surfside is hitting more close to home.
“Every life is a whole world," said Levy. "The whole extension of family members- fathers, mothers, sons and daughters- and we just have to pause for a moment and realize what each individual family is going through. It’s real. It’s real grief, real impact and we all have to do what we can to provide whatever support we can.”
Support by supplying items such as clothing and personal hygiene essentials. Plenty has been supplied already, but the greatest need- as Levy says- is to make sure those displaced find a roof over their heads.
“The outpouring of kindness and wanting to help out has been overwhelming and enormous. It came to a point where we actually had to turn people away because we just had an overabundance of items and stuff donated.”
But there is still more to be done, Levy says, as fire departments and other agencies continue to work around the clock.
“We’re going to try and do what we can to provide support for as long as it takes.”
