No Supplies, No Rescue: Survivors' Ordeal in Venezuela's Earthquake Ground Zero

The air in the disaster zones of Venezuela's coastal state of La Guaira has begun to carry the stench of decay, as the bodies of victims remain buried beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. The nation was struck by two devastating earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, on Wednesday. The disaster has claimed 920 lives and injured 3,360 people, with the majority of casualties concentrated in La Guaira, a state neighboring Caracas that authorities have designated as the tragedy's ground zero.

The scale of the disaster has overwhelmed the response capacity of authorities in a country unaccustomed to major earthquakes. Numerous residents report that government aid has been delayed or has yet to materialize. Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez visited some affected areas on Thursday afternoon. Rescue teams from countries including the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States began arriving overnight and into Friday morning.

However, in Playa Grande, an area almost leveled by the earthquakes, aid remained nonexistent on Friday morning. "I pulled out my sister; she is in a coma at the Pérez Carreño hospital. They are also charging us for everything, because everything is pay, pay," recounted Pedro Luis Pérez, 41, to EFE. Pérez must pay because Venezuela's public hospitals are suffering from shortages of medical supplies due to the ongoing economic crisis.

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I pulled out my sister; she is in a coma at the Pérez Carreño hospital. They are also charging us for everything, because everything is pay, pay.

He is currently staying in a shelter opposite the nearly collapsed building in Playa Grande, where three of his relatives are still buried under the debris. "We need masks because of the smell," he stated, adding that the community itself has been recovering bodies. In front of him, people stand observing the buildings, attempting to clear debris, or simply watching the remnants of structures with laments. Parts of bodies are visible among the rubble, and some standing buildings lean at precarious angles, increasing the risk of further collapses.

The earthquakes also impacted other regions, including Caracas, where buildings in some residential complexes collapsed. The president of Venezuela's Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, reported on Friday that in addition to the fatalities and injuries, 172 people are trapped in buildings, and 3,007 are displaced. Approximately 383 buildings are totally or "significantly" affected, most of them in La Guaira. Rodríguez urged the public not to travel to La Guaira to assist, warning it would create more congestion, and invited those wishing to help with rescue and victim care operations to go to collection centers in Caracas to donate.

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We need masks because of the smell.