Venezuelans take search for the missing into their own hands in earthquake aftermath

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans took the search for missing loved ones into their own hands Friday in the aftermath of back-to-back earthquakes, saying they have not seen state rescue teams despite authorities projecting an image of a robust government response.

The devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck late Wednesday killed at least 589 people and left thousands injured, authorities said. Desperate families across northern Venezuela searched in the ruins of buildings for family members and whatever remained of their lives.

Nazareth Jimenez sobbed into the shoulder of a loved one as she watched neighbors try to cut through slabs of concrete with power tools in a building reduced to a mountain of debris. “My god, how are we going to get them out of there?” she murmured.

She was in the hardest-hit northern state of La Guaira, just north of the capital of Caracas, and was wracked with anxiety as she waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would emerge from the debris alive.

“We’re making a call for help to governments of countries across the world,” Jimenez said, pleading for machines that would be capable of moving collapsed structures. “There are still people alive in there.”

At the same time, acting President Delcy Rodríguez sought to project the idea that authorities were mounting a full response, and on Friday she welcomed the arrival of rescuers and humanitarian aid from all over the world. Rodríguez said La Guaira had been militarized as crews search for survivors and distribute food and water.

The number of dead was expected to climb, with thousands of people reported missing.

“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped,” she said. “We are working tirelessly on this task.”

Venezuelans reeling from quakes

The International Organization for Migration said that up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the quakes, some 2 million of them in Caracas alone. Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross’ regional director for the Americas, said “people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes.”

Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, with furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead. Buildings were flattened and streets cracked open.

Families posted missing-person flyers with photos while others shared handwritten lists of names. Venezuelans abroad struggled to make contact with relatives due to interrupted phone service.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

A mother of three, Dayana Delgado, asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised and said residents were the ones digging through crumpled buildings.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said of her missing 8-year-old son.

Another mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of the missing. Some stood in silent shock.

Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters. A 1999 mudslide there killed thousands.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.

“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” Mendaño said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Media reports have shared notable moments of hope, including a young man brought out on a stretcher in the San Bernardino district of Caracas to the applause of onlookers as his tearful mother said, “Leandro, I love you.”

Venezuelan TV broadcast video of a girl covered in dust and wrapped in a sweatshirt as she emerged from rubble with the help of rescuers. Caracas metropolitan rescue team head José Luis Núñez said she was found in a 10-story building in La Guaira that collapsed and flattened “like a pancake.”

“We want to highlight this girl’s strength, determination and will to live,” Núñez said.

Government and rescuers face huge challenges

The natural disaster is the latest challenge for Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal from power of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the United States. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.

Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.

“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

Shortly after U.N. officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people could get potentially lifesaving information, Venezuelans were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024 in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Foreign governments offer assistance

Some 1,000 emergency responders in 25 search-and-rescue teams from across the globe are deploying to Venezuela, said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was immediately deploying assistance.

“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big. It’ll be fast, and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said, while acknowledging the closure of Venezuela’s main airport near Caracas created logistical challenges.

Venezuelan TV on Friday showed the arrival of rescuers with dogs and equipment, including cameras and ground-penetrating radar, from Spain. Teams from Germany, Chile and Switzerland also landed. Turkey announced two flights will leave Istanbul on Friday with rescuers and a pair of search dogs. China also said it will provide assistance. Leaders from Qatar, Brazil, Portugal and Canada vowed to send help.

Rescue teams from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic arrived Thursday, along with rescuers and material aid from Mexico.

“No country is prepared to provide the response that’s needed. That’s what neighboring countries are there for,” Dominican air force Maj. Carlos Olivares said.