Caracas, Venezuela — Days after two powerful earthquakes slammed Venezuela, leaving nearly 2,000 people dead and more than 10,000 injured so far, the scene in the northern state of La Guaira is one of devastation.
Residents are living outdoors after hundreds of buildings completely or partially collapsed; some too afraid to return home for fear of aftershocks, some with no home to return to.
To make matters worse, in some areas the displaced are also facing harsh rain storms which have intermittently battered areas close to Venezuela’s capital Caracas since Sunday.
“I’m an earthquake survivor. I was inside the building when we started to feel the quake, and we began helping people get out,” said Daniel, a 38-year-old resident of La Guaira, who expressed dismay at the latest tragedy to strike the state. (In 1999, La Guaira suffered a severe landslide that also claimed thousands of lives).
He explained that very little aid has reached his city on the Caribbean coast, something he regrets, given the thousands of victims he believes could have been rescued much earlier if authorities had been better prepared.
Daniel said that they have not been given water and that they feel neglected.
His building, in an urbanization called Caribe, is part of Misión Vivienda, a social housing program started in 2011 by former President Hugo Chávez, and has hundreds of apartments.
His tower is still intact, however, other structures in Caribe collapsed completely.
Daniel said he was thankful to be alive. “Many of us were able to get out here, but in other towers in Caribe, it was tragic—no one could escape. Several people died and many were injured,” he told Latin America Reports.
He said that many areas of his building have suffered irreversible damage, making it uninhabitable. “The third and fourth floors collapsed; the stairwells are warped and cracked.”
Neighbors, he said, sprung into action for the initial rescue efforts — and likely managed to save many lives.
“We’ve all been supporting one another because neither the police nor the National Guard have arrived,” he said on Monday. In an effort to control the situation, the government has militarized La Guaira and has restricted access to the area.
According to Venezuelan officials, at least 22,619 people have been affected across various states nationwide.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said on Monday that 855 buildings had been damaged, and 189 had completely collapsed. However, a review of satellite imagery by a team at Oregon State University concluded that as many as 58,870 buildings could be damaged across the country.
As of Tuesday morning, 90% of electrical service has been restored in La Guaira, which should help restore power to the state.
In addition, a total of 2,100 international rescue workers from 28 countries have been deployed and have been working tirelessly to find survivors.
Featured image: Buildings collapsed in La Guaira, Venezuela following a pair of devastating earthquakes on June 24, 2026.
Image credit: Julio Blanca for Latin America Reports
