A Canadian teacher from Toronto, living in Venezuela says residents are digging through rubble by hand and sleeping in parks as search efforts continue days after a pair of powerful earthquakes devastated parts of the country.
The death toll from Wednesday’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes has climbed to at least 920, while more than 51,000 people remain unaccounted for, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Heather McKay, a Canadian who teaches at the British School Caracas, was leaving her apartment to meet a friend for dinner when the first quake struck.
“It was like the ocean, almost just kind of doing this back and forth (motion),” McKay told Global News.
McKay said she rushed away from nearby buildings once she realized what was going on.
“I saw a building and the fire escape… people were just running down,” she said. “There were just holes in so many apartment buildings. It was absolutely intense.”
Her own apartment building was damaged in the earthquake, forcing her to seek shelter with a colleague.
“My building has huge holes in the bottom. An entire wall is missing near the staircase,” she said.
McKay added that many residents are still afraid to return to their homes amid concerns about structural damage and aftershocks.
Authorities announced Friday they would restrict access to La Guaira, the epicentre of the destruction, as rescue crews continue searching for survivors.
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More than 14,000 military and police personnel have been deployed to the area.
But McKay said many rescue efforts are being carried out by ordinary citizens.
“People are asking, ‘Do you have hammers? Do you have gloves? Do you have helmets?’” she said. “A lot of the rescue efforts have just been regular citizens wearing motorcycle helmets and digging with their hands.”
McKay said many people escaped with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
“People were on the street in their pyjamas, trying to wrangle their pets, just having no idea,” she said. “So many people will have lost everything…literally everything except the clothes on their backs.”
She warned that forecasted rain could worsen conditions for displaced residents sheltering outdoors.
“There are people camping in plazas and parks. They have nowhere to go,” she said.
Aid organizations generally consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster critical for finding survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, according to Red Cross VP of international cooperation, Kelsey Lemon.
“We expect a long road to recovery,” Lemon said.
Despite the destruction, McKay said residents have rallied together to help one another.
“Venezuelans are some of the most hardworking and kind people you will ever meet,” she said. “Everyone is trying their best, but we need help.”
McKay said she registered her presence in Venezuela with Global Affairs Canada and received updates following security incidents earlier this year but has “had zero communication from them,” since the earthquakes.
She urged people not to forget about the country as international attention inevitably shifts elsewhere.
Venezuelan authorities said Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the U.S., El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and beyond were in the country, and more were coming from elsewhere.
“Right now it’s in the news, but in a week, in a month, it’s not going to be fixed,” McKay said. “Please don’t forget about Venezuela.”
–with files from the Associated Press
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