Survivors of the earthquake in Venezuela are making the difficult transition from relief to recovery
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With the unofficial number of missing in Venezuela exceeding 30,000 people, the government’s confirmed death toll from the earthquake of 3,342 could be many times higher.
However, the aftermath of the twin earthquakes of June 24 is clearly entering a new phase.
International rescue teams, tacitly acknowledging that no victims would be found alive after 12 days under the rubble, prepared to leave. Local authorities are turning their focus to finding housing for thousands of homeless people. And the recovery of the dead has become a stressful and shocking task for Venezuelans who are still losing their loved ones.
Here’s a visual look at how Venezuelans deal with the search for bodies, and how they remember those who have died.
Residents feel alone
Residents say they are left alone in the search for their dead. Many said that since they were left without government help to rescue the survivors shortly after the earthquake, they are now well equipped to find their dead almost two weeks later.
Below, people hug on July 4 after rescuers told them there were no survivors in a house destroyed by an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela.
(Ariana Cubillos/The Associated Press)
More than 16,000 people were injured. In this photo, Fabricio Gutierrez, 16, is recovering at the Perez Carreno Hospital in the capital, Caracas, after having his foot amputated due to injuries sustained when the apartment he lived in fell in La Guaira.
(Matias Delacroix/The Associated Press)
Over the weekend in hard-hit La Guaira, no government or security personnel could be seen helping families dig, the Associated Press reported. Most of those who walked in this accident were ordinary people using their hands or unusual tools.
“We are the ones helping ourselves, our family. No one else is helping us except a few volunteers,” said Yeikhary Urbina, who found the bodies of his mother and brother on Saturday.
Below, a man selects clothes, donated to those affected by the earthquake, at the sports center in La Guaira on July 4.
(Ariana Cubillos/The Associated Press)
Search for teams from Italy, Argentina, Spain and other countries that have returned home. The Venezuelan government has not stopped searching for survivors. But officials have moved from promoting heroic rescue stories on social media to announcing plans to rebuild under a program called Venezuela Reborn.
During that time, citizens bury and mourn the dead, especially in La Guaira:
