Twin quakes devastate Venezuela as survivors search

Venezuelans search – In Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuelans are digging through collapsed buildings and hoping within the 72-hour window for survivors after twin earthquakes—7.2 and 7.5—left more than 1,400 dead and thousands missing.

In Caracas, Neida Pernilla watched her world split in seconds.

Her apartment was destroyed by Wednesday’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes, striking within seconds of each other. She survived. but the destruction came fast enough that “some very tough days are coming. ” she said—days that begin with searching for the living and end. too often. with the knowledge that the dead may never be found.

As rescue teams and neighbors kept looking for survivors, the scale of the disaster sharpened: more than 1,400 are dead, and thousands more remain missing.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez told Venezuelans they were not alone. Yet for many people. the reality on the ground has felt different—especially in the north. where the earthquakes hit millions. After years of economic and political strife. some residents say the country’s long-running humanitarian crisis has made it harder for the government to respond to the natural disaster.

In the port city of La Guaira—one of the worst-hit areas—people have turned to taking essential supplies from stores. Food and clean water have become scarce even though the city is only about 20 miles from the capital. Collapsed roadways and damaged bridges have largely isolated La Guaira, cutting off routes just when families need help most.

“I’ve seen how it goes: it’s been us, the families, trying to dig through debris to find our relatives,” said Mileidy Duque, 43. Her 82-year-old mother, her brother, her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend are still missing.

Duque’s family lived on the second floor of the Luisa Caceres de Arismendi building, government housing inaugurated by ousted President Nicolás Maduro in 2015. After the quake, the building didn’t just shake—it disappeared into ruin.

“This situation is so sad, not just for me, but for all of Venezuela,” Duque said. “I have no words to explain how it feels to fear that your family is trapped in there. I feel like my hands are tied, it’s very difficult.”

Outside the morgue in Caracas, another family carried grief that had already landed like a verdict. Lindomar Milla said her sister and brother-in-law are among the known dead from the Playa Los Cocos neighborhood in La Guaira.

“I’m heartbroken, but I thank God that I know where they are,” Milla said, sitting outside the morgue where their remains had been taken. “There are families from all over the country who still don’t know if their relatives are dead or alive. It’s so painful.”

In La Guaira, memory runs deep. Many residents still recall the massive landslides that followed torrential rain in December 1999. An official death toll was never published. But researchers at the Central University of Venezuela estimated nearly 15,000 people died.

“This was much worse than the mudslides,” Milla said. “So many people are still looking for their loved ones. There are people who traveled to La Guaira and found buildings that no longer exist.”

Even as aftershocks have rattled buildings and nerves, the search has been shaped by a brutal countdown: the so-called 72-hour golden window, when it is most likely to find victims alive in the rubble.

In the streets, the moments of rescue bring sound—cheers that ring out when survivors are pulled free. For a few seconds, grief lifts and joy breaks through. Then the noise fades, because so many families are still missing, and the heat in impacted areas only makes the waits harder.

Some people have begun wearing face masks to shield themselves from the smell of death and decay.

In the capital’s Palos Grandes neighborhood. Susana Henríquez stood behind yellow tape at what is left of the Petunia residential complex in the upper-middle-class area. Two towers once rose behind the gates that secured the community. Henríquez escaped from her home in Petunia II. The other tower collapsed.

“We want to trust that our neighbors in the Petunia I will be rescued alive,” Henríquez told CNN.

Her tears weren’t just about survival. They were about the full lives she can’t account for yet—friends and neighbors whose names still carry weight even when the buildings do not.

Many families in Venezuela are already used to living with little, before disaster ever arrives. Food costs more than most can earn, even when people are working multiple jobs. The economic crisis. combined with a repressive government. has driven millions of Venezuelans to seek better lives in neighboring Colombia or farther afield like the United States. sending money back when they can.

Now, with the country shaken again, Venezuelans inside and outside the borders are gathering water, medicine, food and clothes for those affected by the quakes.

Mariana Sanchez, a 20-year-old student, walked through Caracas carrying supplies for people in need. She said a group of friends decided to collect food and other materials to bring to those impacted, and that she has also seen university groups organizing their own efforts.

“People are very appreciative. It’s in times like these when Venezuelans come together and help lift each other up, it’s very inspiring,” Sanchez said.

Collection sites have also been set up in cities with large Venezuelan populations, including Miami, New York and Madrid.

Marcos Mirabal, a Miami resident, described what it feels like to donate from far away while the ground still moves at home. He told CNN at a donation drive that even after years since he left Venezuela, he still feels it when the country is hurting.

“I brought diapers, flashlights, clothes. My daughters have so much clothing and there are so many children in the country who are suffering right now,” Mirabal said.

Still. even as communities respond with speed and compassion. some families are asking why the response couldn’t have been faster—whether it came down to emergency services. equipment. or infrastructure. Gustavo Quintero. speaking about what he has been seeing. said. “It’s unbelievable that this is 2026 and this country is still operating this way. We’re having to find the names of our loved ones on hand-written sheets of paper; firefighters don’t have the necessary resources to help people. There aren’t the minimum logistics.”.

For 18-year-old law student Miguel Martínez, the future isn’t something theoretical. It’s a classmate he wants brought out alive.

“We never give up,” Martínez told CNN. “We’ve already been through so much and when things get tough all we can do is lift each other up.”

In Venezuela, the search is still ongoing—and so is the question that hangs over every family waiting for an answer: can recovery come after a disaster this massive, or are the cracks beneath it already too deep?

Venezuela earthquakes twin quakes Caracas La Guaira rescue efforts missing survivors aftershocks emergency response humanitarian crisis recovery