In Caracas, this feels like the hardest moment in Venezuela's modern history

Each morning in Venezuela brings a starker reality for those grappling with the aftermath of recent earthquakes. For survivors like ex-policeman Jan Carlos Roa Garcia and his family, another night has passed without answers about missing loved ones, their sleep disturbed by nightmares of collapsed buildings. Their own home in Caracas is now deemed too dangerous to inhabit, leaving them sleeping outdoors.

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If I was 30 and not 50, then maybe. But I don't know where to begin. And so far, no-one in authority has contacted us.

Garcia, 50, expressed deep uncertainty about rebuilding his family's life. "If I was 30 and not 50, then maybe. But I don't know where to begin. And so far, no-one in authority has contacted us," he lamented, his tears underscoring the profound despair.

While Garcia carefully avoided direct criticism of the government, citing exhaustion and anger, others were more vocal. Musician Zaira Castro, speaking in a plaza near two collapsed buildings, voiced widespread frustration. "We're all pretty frustrated because the government is not showing what it should – a serious display of help," she stated. "It's actually us, the Venezuelans, who are helping each other. We live in a society that has grown into helping each other. We don't depend on the government – that doesn't exist for us anymore."

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We're all pretty frustrated because the government is not showing what it should – a serious display of help. It's actually us, the Venezuelans, who are helping each other. We live in a society that has grown into helping each other. We don't depend on the government – that doesn't exist for us anymore.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez faced residents' anger during a tour in Chacao, with one resident shouting, "You're campaigning in the middle of a tragedy! The government isn't doing anything for the people." The author, who previously served as the BBC's Venezuela Correspondent and lived in the affected Los Palos Grandes neighborhood, noted the personal impact of the disaster, seeing familiar buildings and neighbors.

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You're campaigning in the middle of a tragedy! The government isn't doing anything for the people.

The desperation is palpable in the hardest-hit areas, particularly the coastal town of La Guaira, where over 100 buildings have been flattened. "There are still people in there, we need machinery," pleaded Eileen Lada, an affected resident. "Help us, please." Hospitals along the northern coast are overwhelmed, struggling to cope with the demand on a healthcare system already weakened by decades of underfunding.

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There are still people in there, we need machinery. Help us, please.