"My Family Is Still Under the Rubble"... Disaster Victims Struggle Through Tears

[Anchor]

Victims of the series of earthquakes in Venezuela, who have lost their homes, are barely surviving by sleeping in makeshift tents on the streets. By day, they search through the rubble of collapsed buildings for missing family members, and by night, they endure the harsh reality of sleeping on the cold ground.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the story.

[Reporter]

In La Guaira, the state in Venezuela hit hardest by the earthquakes, a luxury golf course is now filled with tents.

Disaster victims with nowhere else to go have gathered here due to the ongoing aftershocks and fears of further building collapses.

Living in dire conditions without proper places to wash or prepare meals, the victims are struggling to get through each day.

[Elena Yano/Venezuelan Earthquake Victim: Look at the situation we are in. The children have to sleep surrounded by swarms of mosquitoes and crawling insects, and there is nowhere to cook.]

The pain of not knowing whether their missing family members are alive or dead continues to grow.

[Elena Yano/Venezuelan Earthquake Victim: I don't know if (my daughter) is alive or dead, if she has eaten, or if she has fainted. I am in so much pain because I know nothing. I cry every day.]

Sports fields, plazas, and streets across the earthquake-stricken regions of Venezuela are overflowing with displaced people sleeping outdoors.

Their daily routine has become searching for missing family members in the debris of collapsed buildings during the day and lying down in street tents at night.

[Barbara Guerrero/Venezuelan Earthquake Victim: No one can bring back my mother, my stepfather, or my nephew. I am completely exhausted by this whole situation.]

The number of officially displaced people has reached 15,800.

The Venezuelan government plans to set up temporary camps and conduct safety assessments on buildings that remain standing to allow victims to return home. However, given the poor quality of building materials and design, combined with a deep distrust of the government, it appears the anxiety among the victims will not subside anytime soon.

(Video Editing: Cho Mu-hwan, Design: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.