Survivors pitch tents outside Chávez's Misión Vivienda buildings

Survivors of a powerful double earthquake in Venezuela have erected tents outside their destroyed apartment buildings in La Guaira, seeking temporary shelter. The buildings, constructed under the late President Hugo Chávez's Misión Vivienda social housing program initiated in 2011, were completely leveled by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors.

Janet Orta, a survivor who was trapped with her daughter for an hour before neighbors rescued them, expressed resilience despite losing her ground-floor apartment. She is now sleeping in a tent with other residents outside their devastated building in the state considered the "ground zero" of the destruction. Government officials are registering affected individuals to relocate them to designated shelters, while military personnel are assisting residents in retrieving undamaged personal belongings.

Concerns have been raised about the Misión Vivienda program, with NGOs criticizing it as political propaganda that compromised safety. Organizations like Transparencia have previously highlighted that many Misión Vivienda buildings were constructed in high-risk areas using inadequate materials and rushed methods, leading to structural issues such as leaks, cracks, and sinkholes. The double earthquake has officially claimed at least 1,943 lives and injured over 10,571 people, with 855 buildings reported damaged across Venezuela.

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With God's will, one must have faith, faith moves mountains and here we are to tell the story.