The death toll from the Venezuela earthquake reaches 3,535, while survivors search for their missing relatives.

Venezuelans are assessing the sheer scale of their losses 12 days after two powerful earthquakes killed at least 3,535 people, injured many more and left behind massive devastation.

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On Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered in the cities of Caracas and Maracaibo to hold vigils on behalf of those who died and the tens of thousands who are still missing. At the Central University of Caracas, attendees lit white candles and placed them on the ground, forming the shape of the South American country.

Vigils like these have been held across the country over the past week, as a collective sense of grief began to settle in after search and rescue efforts shifted from rescuing trapped survivors to recovering bodies from the rubble. On Tuesday, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez declared “national mourning” for seven days.

That grief now crosses borders as Venezuelans abroad demand answers and try to find their missing loved ones. Two cousins, one in Spain and the other in Orlando, Florida, are using social media to ask for help finding their grandparents, Pedro Veloz Medina and Alejandrina Ramírez de Veloz, who lived in a seven-story building in the hard-hit town of Carrabaleda.

Buildings destroyed in twin earthquakes in Caraballeda. Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images

Valeria Veloz, who lives in Spain, said on Instagram that the family was searching for a crane and other heavy machinery after international rescue workers assessing the damage to the collapsed building told them they would need to lift 10 large slabs of concrete to try to find their grandparents.

Speaking to NBC News from Orlando, Pedro Veloz said that “without the crane, and how the building collapsed, it would be impossible for us to be able to move everything as it should.”

Ryan Ash, a rescuer from the Pennsylvania-based Chazak Rescue, was in Venezuela and working night shifts to retrieve bodies from the wreckage.

“Digging through the rubble in the middle of the day is very hard work. It is very difficult to continue working under the hot sun. So, we started doing it at night and sleeping during the day,” Ash told Noticias Telemundo.

On Sunday, Rodriguez created a new military unit to oversee emergency and disaster management as Venezuelans embark on a long road to rebuild a country already reeling from political and economic crises. After years of strained public services, shortages of supplies and food, and poverty, nearly 8 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes struck.

Venezuelan authorities said more than 850 buildings were damaged or collapsed, although satellite data from NASA indicates the number of destroyed buildings is closer to 59,000, including hospitals and schools.

With more than 17,000 people left homeless after the quakes, the Venezuelan government over the weekend began rebuilding efforts at Brisas de Maiquetia, a government housing complex in La Guaira.

Volunteers and rescue workers help find survivors on top of a collapsed building in Caraballeda on June 30. Miguel Medina/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

“They told us that the reconstruction work will be finished in about three months or even sooner,” Esther Perrier, one of the evacuated residents, told the Associated Press. “They promised to deliver the apartments as soon as the reconstruction was completed, and our building was the first to start the reconstruction.”

Medical and healthcare workers working under risky conditions are caring for tens of thousands of people who have been infected and hospitalized.

Clinica Alpha, the only private health clinic still operating in La Guaira, is operating with a limited staff after losing six of its doctors and five employees to the earthquakes, according to owner Massimiliano Lucca. They rely on donated supplies and medicines to treat those in need, as the country’s already fragile healthcare system is overwhelmed by the disaster.

“Health conditions are deteriorating,” Raxmara Godoy, a doctor in La Guaira who works as a volunteer, told Noticias Telemundo. She added that the risk of infectious diseases spreading in the disaster area is likely to continue to increase.

With a splint on her left foot and crutches, 12-year-old Fabiana Blanco, who spent 30 hours trapped under rubble, is recovering from injuries to her legs and back.

Fabiana Blanco, 12 years old, was rescued from the rubble. Telemundo News

“The important thing is that I am alive,” she told Noticias Telemundo. “This will remain as a memory – a battle scar – because not only did I suffer, but I also did everything in my power to get out,” she said in Spanish, pointing to her injuries.

While the death toll from the earthquakes remained at a low level on Monday, the US Geological Survey estimates that the final death toll will likely range between 10,000 and 100,000 depending on the level of destruction.

The crucial factor determining how high that number can rise depends on Venezuela’s ability to care for injured and sick survivors, said Rafael Velasquez, head of the emergency response team at the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization that helps Venezuelans affected by earthquakes.

“When the spotlight is highlighted elsewhere, we can see these numbers of people affected, people infected, and deaths continue to increase because there is no health system in place,” Velasquez told NBC News.

Nicole Acevedo reports from New York City, Erika Angulo from Miami and Damia Bonmati from La Guaira, Venezuela.

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