What’s at the Surfside pop-up memorials? Flowers, candles, messages and whispers

The outpouring of grief for the victims and missing in the Surfside condominium collapse is physical, tucked into chain-link fences, scribbled on scraps of paper and heaped onto tables.

As the fifth day of searching for survivors continues, small clusters of people have begun to gather quietly around the chain-link fences blocking off the public from getting too close to the site of the disaster.

These have become impromptu memorials — gathering spots for neighbors and people whose loved ones are among the missing. They hang photos, leave flowers, whisper greetings to neighbors and strangers alike. Some kneel to light candles or pray. It is an almost serene moment of unity during a tragedy that will undoubtedly affect the small Surfside community for years to come.

Some of the signs left at the memorials are written in Spanish. At least 36 people among the missing or confirmed dead are from Latin American countries, including Colombia, Argentina, Cuba,

Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Others are leaving stuffed animals, some pulled from the rubble.

Another impromptu memorial has been set up at a barrier blocking off beach access to the collapsed tower.

Every few minutes, small groups of people approach the large plastic barriers. They walk at a slow pace, holding each other, heads bowed under a light drizzle. Slowly, almost reverently, they place bouquets of flowers against the barriers for their missing loved ones. Some cry, others just stand there quietly, at a loss for words.

One woman, who is clutching a rosary so tightly that her knuckles have turned white, leans down to place a small statue of Mary and baby Jesus in the sand. She turns on a few electric candles and surrounds the figurine with it. She begins to whisper a prayer as the drizzle turns into a steady downpour. She doesn’t seem to notice the change, but a man wearing a yarmulke a few feet away walks up behind her to hold an umbrella above her head.

The woman looks up briefly, makes eye contact with the man. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. She understands. She nods at him, then closes her eyes to finish her prayer.