A Canadian teacher from Toronto, who lives in Venezuela, says residents are digging through rubble with their hands and sleeping in parks as search efforts continue days after two powerful earthquakes devastated parts of the country.
The death toll from Wednesday’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes has risen to at least 1,420 people, while more than 51,000 people are still missing, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Heather MacKay, a Canadian who teaches at the British School in Caracas, was leaving her apartment to meet a friend for dinner when the first quake struck.
“It was like an ocean, almost just kind of moving back and forth,” McKay told Global News.
McKay said she ran away from nearby buildings as soon as she realized what was happening.
“I saw a building and a fire escape…people were running down,” she said. “There were just holes in several apartment buildings. It was very intense.”
Her apartment building was damaged in the earthquake, forcing her to seek shelter with a colleague.
“The building I live in has big holes at the bottom,” she said. “There is an entire wall missing near the stairs.”
MacKay added that many residents were still afraid to return to their homes amid concerns about structural damage and aftershocks.
Authorities announced on Friday that they would restrict access to La Guaira, the epicenter of the devastation, while rescue teams continued to search for survivors.
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More than 14,000 soldiers and police were deployed in the region.
But McKay said many rescue efforts are being carried out by private citizens.
“People ask: ‘Do you have hammers? Do you have gloves? Do you have helmets?'” she said. “A lot of the rescue efforts were ordinary citizens wearing motorcycle helmets and digging with their hands.”
McKay said many people fled with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
“People were on the street in their pajamas, trying to fight their pets, but they had no idea,” she said. “A lot of people will lose everything… literally everything except the clothes they wear.”
It warned that the expected rains could worsen conditions for displaced residents taking shelter outside.
“There are people camping in squares and parks. They have nowhere to go,” she said.
Relief organizations generally consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a disaster to be crucial for finding survivors trapped under collapsed buildings, according to Kelsey Lemon, vice president of international cooperation at the Red Cross.
“We expect a long road to recovery,” Lemon said.
Despite the devastation, McKay said residents rallied together to help each other.
“Venezuelans are some of the hardest-working and kindest people you can meet,” she said. “Everyone is doing their best, but we need help.”
MacKay said she registered her presence in Venezuela with Global Affairs Canada and received updates following security incidents earlier this year but “hasn’t had any contact from them” since the earthquakes.
She urged people not to forget the country as international attention inevitably turns elsewhere.
Venezuelan authorities said on Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the United States, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and other countries are in the country, and that more are coming from elsewhere.
“Right now, this is in the news, but in a week or a month, it’s not going to be fixed,” MacKay said. “Please don’t forget Venezuela.”
—With files from The Associated Press
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