Venezuelans face nightmare of losing homes after earthquakes

Morela Luna still believes the destruction of her home by the June 24 earthquakes is a nightmare. Rescued by neighbors from her partially collapsed house in Catia La Mar, the 23-year-old student now sleeps at her partner's grandmother's house. "I grew up here and I don't want to lose it," she says.

Engineers and architects are inspecting homes in the La Lucha neighborhood, largely built by residents themselves. Houses are color-coded: green for habitable, yellow for repairs, and red for dangerous. Luna's home is a total loss. Meanwhile, 65-year-old Juana Alfonzo continues to enter her damaged house, despite a sunken floor and visible column damage. She and five relatives sleep in tents in the yard, fearing collapse but hoping for repairs. "There are people who cry a lot because, of course, it's a total loss. So many years building houses for them to be gone in 39 seconds," she says, referring to the consecutive 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.

However, Alfonzo does not yet know that technical inspections have found her home's columns compromised, deeming it unsafe. A government team will later affix the red danger tag. Open spaces in La Lucha are filled with tents as families await government repairs. Debris removal has begun in some areas, but reconstruction has not. Many residents remember the 1999 landslide that killed thousands and left tens of thousands homeless in La Guaira, with many living in shelters for years. "Nobody will want to leave here," says Gustavo, a mechanic who declined to give his last name.

Official figures state the earthquakes collapsed 190 buildings and damaged 856. However, a NASA estimate suggests up to 58,000 structures could be affected. In Los Palos Grandes, an upscale Caracas neighborhood, residents look on as a red warning sign is placed on their building. "Who did this inspection? With what preparation?" one resident demands.