When it seemed that it was calming down, everything has shaken again

Barcelona"I was entering the house and I received a notification on my mobile warning of an earthquake. Immediately we began to feel the tremor. Glasses started falling from the cupboards and books from the shelves, and we quickly went down to the street. When it seemed to be over, a second tremor shook everything again, even stronger. It was very distressing." This is how Marisol Tapia, a resident of Caracas, experienced the double earthquake that shook Venezuela. "My building seems to have not suffered damage, but the city is full of collapsed buildings," she tells ARA.

the double earthquake that shook Venezuela Marisol Tapia, a resident of Caracas. "My building seems to have not suffered damage, but the city is full of collapsed buildings," she tells ARA.

Amidst the tragedy, Tapia denounces that the information the population is receiving is trickle-fed. "The government has only given generic messages, and it wasn't until many hours later that it started to specify some things." The uncertainty generated by the feeling of not knowing what was happening has been exacerbated for many Venezuelans by the ban on the social network X in the country. It is through this channel that most of the videos of the events and messages from people looking for friends and family have circulated. Some Venezuelans are accustomed to using a VPN to bypass the block, but in the critical situation the country is in, Chavismo has stopped blocking the application.

The double earthquake occurred past 6 p.m. on Wednesday, local time. Thus, rescue teams quickly found themselves in the dark, carrying out their tasks with flashlights in the darkness. According to various media outlets and journalists in Venezuela, multiple neighbors have joined the emergency teams, organizing themselves to find the missing.

As the night progressed, those who could returned to their homes, despite the fear of new aftershocks. "We are home, awake, nervous and attentive to what is happening. I am spending the night sleepless, but some of my relatives have managed to rest for a while," Paulino del Rosario, a resident of the Guaicoco neighborhood, east of Caracas, tells ARA. In his building, the earthquake has left several cracked walls, but now that a few hours have passed, he is confident that the aftershocks will not bring it down.

"Many people have found themselves in squares and open places where there is no risk of collapse or falling electricity poles or urban furniture," illustrates Del Rosario. He has been able to locate most of his friends and family, but explains that people around him who have acquaintances in La Guaira, the coastal state bordering Caracas, are having more difficulty contacting them. The interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has pointed out that this state, where Venezuela's most important airport is located, is one of the most affected by the earthquake.

Although there are more and more details about the earthquake's impact, uncertainty continues to reign among Venezuelans. The rescue of people and the search for survivors continue, given the fear that the official death toll will quickly climb when daylight comes. And meanwhile, a sense of hopelessness invades the population: "After all we have suffered, now comes the earthquake? It can't be," laments Tapia.