Tens of thousands of people in Venezuela are desperately seeking food and shelter after two powerful earthquakes killed nearly 2,000 people, according to officials. The disaster, one of the worst in Latin American history, has left entire residential complexes collapsed and tens of thousands unaccounted for. Rescue teams, however, managed to pull a three-year-old boy alive from the rubble six days after the shocks, sparking cheers among workers.
Rescue Efforts and a Miraculous Survival
Last week's 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck Venezuela, causing widespread destruction. The critical 72-hour window for finding survivors closed on Saturday evening, but a Jordanian civil defense team discovered the three-year-old boy in the wreckage of a house in Caracas. Video footage showed rescue workers cheering with joy as the child, whose vital signs were good, was pulled out. The Jordanian civil defense confirmed the rescue in a statement.
Despite this success, hopes for more rescues are fading. The United Nations refugee agency reported that in the port city of La Guaira, the worst-hit area north of the capital Caracas, food shortages are widespread, basic services have broken down, and connectivity has been largely severed. Daniela Armas, an 18-year-old vendor in La Guaira who was injured falling from a motorbike during the quakes, described the desperate scramble for supplies: "They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food... it's like a cockfight."
Death Toll and Injuries Climb
In a daily update, Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced that deaths had risen to 1,943, with more than 10,500 injured. He said nearly 6,500 people had been rescued from the rubble in La Guaira, but that number was likely closer to 20,000, including those who escaped or were helped out by family. Many Venezuelans have expressed anger at the government's slow response to the disaster, in a country already struggling with decades of economic crisis that has weakened infrastructure and health services.
The United Nations agency said it needs approximately $14.85 million to scale up aid and provide temporary shelter for 30,000 people over six months. A preliminary assessment of satellite data published by NASA indicated that the quakes likely damaged or destroyed 58,870 buildings.
Health Services Under Extreme Pressure
World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier warned that health services in Venezuela are overstretched and under extreme pressure. He highlighted an increased risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria due to low pre-earthquake vaccination coverage. With thousands in need of help, international rescue teams from the US, Mexico, and dozens of other countries have scrambled with trained dogs and heavy equipment to dig out survivors.
Venezuelans have begun burying the dead they could find, while others frantically search by hand for missing loved ones in the rubble, hospitals, and morgues. Rosanna Luna, searching for her sister Soraida in the wreckage of her home, said, "It's harder not knowing because you ask yourself, 'What do I do? Where do I look for her?'"
Makeshift Morgues and Desperate Searches
AFP journalists on Monday saw black body bags containing victims of the quake lined up near a makeshift morgue at the dock in La Guaira, where many people came for news or to identify remains. Darvin Silva, 37, described how he battled to reach his mother, who died under a pillar in a collapsed building. "The effort it took me to get her out of there with my bare hands, with sledgehammers, with pickaxes... you can't even begin to imagine," he said. "I hope that I can now offer her the rest she deserves."
According to the UN, around 50,000 people are still listed as missing. Some seven million people in Venezuela would be affected by the disaster, with the quakes knocking a $6.7-billion hole in the economy, or six percent of Venezuela's GDP. A total of 27 countries have mobilized nearly 40 search-and-rescue teams, including more than 2,000 troops and personnel, along with more than 160 dogs, according to Gianluca Rampolla, the UN coordinator in Venezuela.
Body Bags and Crematory Ovens at Capacity
The world body is providing 10,000 body bags, though it hopes the final toll will be lower. At the only public cemetery in Caracas, the two crematory ovens have been working at full capacity. At the makeshift morgue at La Guaira's port, many are still waiting for the remains of their loved ones who are presumed dead. Wilker Molalla told AFP as he waited to identify remains: "My family is there — I'm told my sister and her children are there, as well as the children of my brother. There were 11 people in my household. Only two of us survived because we were at work."
