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Dramatic Testimonies in Caracas After Two Powerful Earthquakes: 'The Whole Wall Cracked, It Was Horrible'
🇦🇷 Argentina /Disasters & Emergencies

Dramatic Testimonies in Caracas After Two Powerful Earthquakes: 'The Whole Wall Cracked, It Was Horrible'

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Two strong earthquakes shook Venezuela, causing buildings to collapse and sparking panic among residents.
  • Rescue teams searched for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed six-story building in Caracas, managing to pull out a child and a dog.
  • Communication outages left thousands without news of loved ones, increasing desperation as families sought information.

Screams erupted as the ground began to shake. In apartment buildings, shopping centers, hospitals, and offices, thousands of Venezuelans fled into the streets as two powerful earthquakes rattled the country, shaking walls, ceilings, and windows.

I need to know how my family is.

— Niurka MeléndezA co-founder of an organization aiding Venezuelans and immigrants in New York, she expressed her inability to contact over twenty relatives in Caracas due to communication outages.

In the Caracas neighborhood of El Paraíso, a six-story residential building collapsed. As night fell, rescue teams continued to search for survivors among the debris. Behind police lines, dozens of family members awaited news of their loved ones. Members of the National Guard, police, and Civil Protection climbed over the wreckage, shouting the names of the missing and calling for silence to listen for any response.

Amidst the operation, rescuers managed to pull a child and a dog from the rubble alive. Uncertainty spread far beyond the collapse site. Communication outages left thousands without news of family and friends, fueling desperation both inside and outside the country. "I need to know how my family is," said Niurka Meléndez, co-founder of an organization aiding Venezuelans and immigrants in New York, who could not reach more than twenty relatives in Caracas.

It was incredible, I don't even know how long it lasted. Many things fell from some businesses. We left through the emergency stairs, and they got us out.

— Heidi RomeroA 42-year-old merchant, she described her experience inside a busy shopping mall in Altamira during the earthquake.

Heidi Romero, a 42-year-old merchant, was on the top floor of a busy shopping mall in Altamira when the tremor began. "It was incredible, I don't even know how long it lasted," she recounted. "Many things fell from some businesses. We left through the emergency stairs, and they got us out." The shaking caused scenes of panic, with shelves collapsing and hundreds running for the exits. Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee, described the damage inside a building: "The stairs detached, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible."

The stairs detached, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible.

— Odalis EscalonaA 54-year-old bank employee, she recounted the damage she observed inside a building after the earthquake.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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