What earthquake relief looks like for Venezuelan volunteers as the death toll passes 1,400

Robert Javier, who has spent the past two days searching for survivors and bodies, says death is everywhere in Playa Grande, a beachfront neighborhood in Catia la Mar, a city in Venezuela’s La Guaira state that was devastated by successive earthquakes on Wednesday.

Javier, a musician who plays the French horn, says more than a dozen unclaimed bodies were found Friday within a 300-meter radius — not far from the local Marriott hotel where he and a group of doctors, paramedics and volunteers set up base camp in the city, which lies along the Caribbean Sea, about 30 kilometers north of Caracas.

“They did [dug out] “More people,” he said in a phone interview with CBC News.

“The whole city smells of decay…the smell of death.”

Watch | The death toll rises to more than 1,400:

The death toll from the Venezuela earthquake has risen to more than 1,400 people

The death toll following successive earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 rose to 1,430 people, according to Venezuelan authorities. Rescue teams and civilians continue to search for survivors as at least 68,900 people are still missing.

The official death toll continues to rise following Wednesday’s successive earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. The Venezuelan authorities said on Saturday that 1,430 people were confirmed dead and thousands more were injured.

The list maintained by a website set up to collect reports of missing persons has grown to more than 50,000 names.

Vicente Villarroel, a former federal lawmaker from the city of La Guaira, said the government’s response was haphazard and that the civilian population bore the brunt of the rescue and recovery work with their bare hands, picks and shovels.

Villarroel said he went by motorcycle to two areas in La Guaira state called Carballeda and Macuto that were completely destroyed by the earthquake. He said he saw more than two dozen pieces of heavy machinery working without any real coordination.

He added: “There is no planning, it is all improvisation.” “This is a state that lacks the security services to handle this type of emergency. Our firefighters and first responders do not have the proper equipment.”

Vicente Villarroel, a former federal lawmaker in Venezuela, is setting up a donation center in the city of La Guaira. (Submitted by Vicente Villarroel) President says global aid is coming

Villarroel, who is setting up a donation center in his city, said Venezuela is in desperate need of international assistance.

Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez visited Macoto on Thursday and said international help was coming. Teams from Mexico, El Salvador, Chile, Spain, Switzerland and Colombia have arrived in the country to reinforce search and rescue efforts. The United States also contributes field support.

La Guaira state was hit by a major natural disaster in 1999 after heavy rainstorms caused massive floods and landslides that destroyed thousands of buildings and left a death toll exceeding 10,000 people.

Villarroel said he believes the damage from the earthquakes is much worse.

Venezuelans rallied in support of their compatriots, with some traveling hundreds of kilometers to join relief efforts. (Susie Peña/CBC)

Venezuelans rallied in areas spared the brunt of this week’s earthquakes to support their compatriots.

Javier said he was in Barquisimeto, located about 370 kilometers west of the capital, Caracas, preparing to travel to Spain on Wednesday to perform at a music festival when the earthquake occurred.

While the damage was minor in his hometown, it soon became clear that parts of the country had suffered severe damage.

A building shaken by two earthquakes was seen on Friday in the beachfront neighborhood of Playa Grande in Catia la Mar, a city in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira. (Susie Peña/CBC) ‘We thought nothing worse could happen’

Javier said he joined a convoy organized by a medical services company that included three buses and two trucks loaded with supplies that left Barquisimeto for La Guaira on Wednesday evening. He added that the group included doctors, paramedics, nurses and volunteers.

Javier said they work with people from all over the country.

“With everything that happened to Venezuela in the last few years, we thought nothing worse could happen,” he said.

But what happened is a real catastrophe, a tragedy.”

Watch | Venezuela’s crises before the earthquakes:

A journalist from Caracas says Venezuela was in crisis even before the earthquakes

Journalist Maria de los Angeles Graterol says that the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela left thousands of people homeless in a country suffering from a dilapidated health care system, and where the majority already live in poverty.

Venezuela has suffered more than a decade of political turmoil and economic collapse, prompting millions of people to leave the country.

Angel Bermudez, a social media content creator in Barquisimeto, has been participating in citywide donation drives since the earthquakes. He added that there was an outpouring of support, as people lined up in their cars to transport supplies to Caracas, which also suffered from the collapse of buildings in several neighborhoods.

“Our land is noble,” Bermudez said. “When one suffers, we all suffer.”

“Venezuelans have been through a lot, and we represent resilience.”

Raquel Mercedes Contreras Manrique, president of the Student Center at Los Andes University in San Cristóbal, packs donated supplies on Friday. (Submitted by Raquel Mercedes Contreras Manrique)

Raquel Mercedes Contreras Manrique is the head of the Student Center at the Universidad de Los Andes in San Cristóbal, a city located about 800 kilometers southwest of Caracas.

The third-year medical student organized a donation drive at the university that has so far resulted in two truckloads of supplies — including food, blankets and medicine — to be shipped to Caracas and other hard-hit areas.

“What motivates me to become part of this movement is the compassion I feel for all Venezuelans who lost their homes, their families, and their will to live because they were left with nothing,” Contreras Manrique said.

“I think that as Venezuelans, more than ever, we are united for different reasons. Many of us have families in the affected areas, others do it out of a desire to help, but in the end the goal is the same.”

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