Venezuelans Reel From Devastating Twin Earthquakes: ‘A Sound I’d Never Heard Before’

Life changed in an instant for millions of Venezuelans after two powerful earthquakes struck on June 24, leaving at least 920 dead and 3,360 injured.

With rescue operations underway, thousands are sleeping in the streets, anxiously awaiting news about loved ones and waiting to hear if it is safe to go home to damaged buildings.

“It was a noise I’d never heard in my life,” recalled Isbelia Gómez, 53. She began trying to get out of her apartment when she saw her husband bumping into the shaking walls.

Gómez described her terrifying escape down a stairwell with open spaces on both sides. “I thought that if we went down the stairs, we were going to get killed,” she said, noting that water was pouring out of her building because the water tanks had burst.

Now Gómez is one of hundreds of people sheltering in the National Pantheon in downtown Caracas, with families setting up tents while they wait for firefighters to inspect their homes and tell them if they can continue living there.

“We still don’t know if we’ll be able to live there, but at my house the tiles cracked, and there are fissures—though they say it’s because of the caulk,” she said.

Gómez described these earthquakes as the worst experience she has ever faced and hopes the authorities will visit her building to assess whether it is habitable or not.

“It’s scary to go through an experience like that, because how many people died when everything collapsed?”

She added that a few years ago, when there was another earthquake, the building sustained some cracks, but at the time they were told they could continue living there. Her fear is that it will happen again: “I know it’s going to happen again at some point.”

Génesis Luzardo, 30, explained that she was on a boulevard near her home when the earthquake began, and upon feeling the tremor, decided to run with her husband and her dog to seek shelter.

“The entire structure was shaking. Everything was moving. There was a lot of uncertainty because my mom and my brother were in the building,” she said.

After that, they waited for the double earthquake to end before going to check on their family, who were safe.

Luzardo is waiting for Civil Protection or the Fire Department to assess the apartment. Though the tremor only seemed to affect the walls, she wants to be sure that the foundations and columns are stable, fearing the structure might collapse during one of the aftershocks.

“Every time we muster a little courage, we go up to the apartment, charge our phones, and come back down,” she explained.

Now her family is based in the Pantheon. In this makeshift camp, solidarity takes center stage, with people arriving carrying bundles of drinking water and food to help those who lost everything.

Debris removal efforts continue at various locations in an effort to find survivors beneath the collapsed structures.

Several countries have said they will send assistance to the country, whether through rescue teams, financial aid or both. Mexico has sent 250 rescuers, El Salvador almost 200 and Spain nearly 100, the outlet added. Colombia will also be sending dozens, and crews from Switzerland and Germany are on their way too, bringing search dogs, sound equipment and specialized gear.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will deploy rescue teams and aid. “Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath,” Rubio said in a social media publication. The U.S. will mobilize $150 million in aid, with the Treasury Department lifted some sanctions by authorizing transactions linked to humanitarian aid.