LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) – The situation has become more desperate since hours in Venezuela as people dig through the rubble of collapsed houses and buildings three days after the destruction one or two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5knowing that time is running out to find survivors.
Authorities announced Friday night that they would block the entrance to La Guaira, the epicenter of the destruction, as chaos and traffic were hampering search efforts. Officials said anyone wanting to enter would now have to seek official permission, but gave few details on who would be allowed to enter. More than 14,000 members of the military and police are patrolling the area, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on state television on Saturday.
Venezuelans began searching for lost loved ones into their own hands, citing a lack of government rescuers, as the death toll from Wednesday’s earthquakes rose to at least 920 dead and more than 51,000 missing. People reported seeing few state rescue teams in the worst-hit areas, despite authorities projecting an image of a strong government response.
Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours as a crucial time frame for retrieving people alive, although this can be extended if they have access to food and water.
“Every person saved is a miracle,” said Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly. “We will hide absolutely nothing about the scale of this tragedy.”
Anxious families are waiting to see if their relatives have survived
In La Guaira state, north of the capital, Caracas, Nazareth Jiménez wept on a loved one’s shoulder as he watched neighbors use hammers and power tools to try to cut concrete slabs from a building reduced to a mountain of debris. She was wracked with anxiety as she waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would make it out alive.
“My God, how are we going to get them out of there?” Jiménez muttered.
“We are appealing for help to the government and countries around the world,” she said, pleading for machinery capable of moving the collapsed structures. “There are still people alive out there.”
Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira, and Rodríguez said her government was mounting a full response during these “critical hours to save people alive.”
Disaster is a big challenge for RODRIGUEZthe former vice president who took office in January after the capture and impeachment of then-President Nicolas Maduro from the United States. Venezuela has faced economic mess for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement that Rodríguez represents.
The death toll was expected to rise, and people reported tens of thousands missing on independent digital databases. These figures are likely to include people who have been unreachable due to lack of cell phone signals, and some reports may be duplicates.
The number of injured was more than 3,300 as of midday Friday, and authorities said they had rescued 243.
Millions of people swaying
The International Organization for Migration said up to 6.76 million people could be affected, about 2 million of them in Caracas alone. The destruction was amplified by the rapid succession of shallow earthquakes, experts said.
Loyce Pace, the regional director of the International Red Cross for the Americas, said that “people are still terrified to re-enter their homes”.
Indeed, many continued to sleep on the streets.
Omar Reyes said about 20 family members died.
“I’m left alone in this life,” Reyes said, walking through the rubble where two of his children were buried.
In the town of Maiquetia, people lined up outside shops and pharmacies serving one by one behind closed doors. At one point a woman in the crowd jumped to the ground to shield a package of diapers with her body, desperate to hold onto it.
Traffic and crowds of motorcyclists sometimes hampered search efforts. Mexican soldiers and volunteers repeatedly called for silence in an attempt to hear signs of life under the rubble, but the bikers – civilians and uniformed – continued to honk and honk their motorbikes to the dismay of the onlookers.
Some people started getting basic goods like toilet paper and food from shops in Catia La Mar, next to the country’s main airport. Others gathered in a civilian van handing out bread and water, until a soldier intervened. The parking lot of a pharmacy turned into a makeshift shelter with tarps, hammocks and umbrellas.
A few miles away, Yuleidy Cadenas, 28, stood in front of a collapsed public housing building, hoping her son, mother and brother would make it out alive.
She fled barefoot from another building as it collapsed on Wednesday and found her mother’s 12-story apartment tower covered.
“I climbed on top of the rubble and told them to scream, and no one did, not my brother, not my son or my mother,” Cadenas said.
International roadside assistance
Venezuelan authorities said Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the US, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and beyond were in the country, and others were coming from other countries.
Acting President Rodríguez said she spoke with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and they reaffirmed their commitment to send rescue teams and relief equipment.
By REGINA GARCIA CANO, JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ and MEGAN JANETSKY The Associated Press
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press reporters Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico contributed.
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