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Venezuela Buries Entire Families After Devastating Earthquakes
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Venezuela Buries Entire Families After Devastating Earthquakes

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Venezuela is grappling with the aftermath of devastating earthquakes that struck nearly a week ago, with entire families being buried.
  • The death toll has risen to 1,943, with 10,571 injured, and an unknown number of people still missing.
  • Cemeteries in Caracas are overwhelmed, with some working at maximum capacity to handle the influx of bodies, many of whom are children.

Venezuela is in mourning as entire families are laid to rest following devastating earthquakes that struck the nation nearly a week ago.

Oh, my daughter! Give her back to me!

— A grieving motherExpressing her anguish while burying her daughter and grandson.

The tremors, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, have left a tragic toll, with the confirmed death count reaching 1,943 and the number of injured at 10,571. The coastal city of La Guaira appears to be the most severely affected, and the number of missing persons remains unclear.

In one chapel, we have put up to six people because they were members of the same family.

— Worker at the East Cemetery of CaracasDescribing the overwhelming number of family members being buried together.

Cemeteries in the capital, Caracas, are struggling to cope with the sheer volume of deceased. The East Cemetery of Caracas, one of the largest, has been receiving hundreds of bodies daily, many requiring cremation. Workers report that chapels are filled with up to six family members, highlighting the widespread devastation. The cost of funeral services ranges from $2,000 to $12,000.

There are many children under 15 years old, most of the dead were children.

— Worker at the East Cemetery of CaracasHighlighting the tragic impact on young lives.

Reports indicate a high number of child victims among the dead. The General Cemetery of the South is also extending its hours for burials and cremations, and preparations are underway to create space for an estimated 300 additional niches. The morgue in Bello Monte has also been overwhelmed, with residents and workers describing scenes of chaos as people arrived with vehicles to transport bodies.

Everything was crowded with people, there wasn't an inch of space, and people were arriving with trucks, cars (...) to bring bodies.

— Sandra ApóstolDescribing the scene at the main morgue in Caracas.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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