The coastal state battered by Venezuela’s earthquakes is no stranger to tragedy

By Uriel Blanco, Mary Triny Mena, Hira Humayun, Camille Rodríguez Montilla, CNN

(CNN) — In Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira, which was hardest hit in the massive twin earthquakes on Wednesday, residents said they spent the night awake and reported that several people remained trapped in the rubble after severe damage to dozens of apartment buildings.

“We felt the jolt, so to speak — the start of the earthquake. And it was very strong … we gathered out here and saw all the damage,” local resident José Terraza, 68, told journalists on the ground working on behalf of CNN.

The buildings across the way from his home in Playa Grande collapsed, but his apartment building is still standing. Residents spent the long night outside, with whatever belongings they managed to grab, as they feared possible aftershocks.

Cries of family members calling out for their missing loved ones pierce the air.

Video on Venezuelan state television showed buildings missing facades, tilted on their foundations. What was left of other buildings were buried under piles of their own debris. Other video showed massive piles of debris as people climbed and searched around the colossal heaps. Other buildings were seen entirely crumbled on the ground.

Smashed windows, broken pipes and slabs of concrete lay amid stuffed animals, clothes and shoes. Some satellite images even show evidence of fire damage, consistent with reports of firefighters supporting the emergency response.

Residents said that there is not enough aid to meet people’s needs, and that the first responders are struggling to cope with the number of people injured or missing under the rubble.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared the state of La Guaira a disaster zone, saying late on Wednesday night that “the situation in La Guaira is a true tragedy.”

People gathered in public spaces, carrying whatever they could manage to salvage and bring with them, according to MSF. Others decided to stay outdoors, in fear of their buildings being next.

Schools and sports stadiums have turned into makeshift shelters, hosting those who lost their homes. Other public buildings have become collection centers for emergency supplies, as aid groups have stressed the urgent need for essential household items, safe water and sanitation.

The Venezuelan Red Cross has said urgent medical care including trauma care and psychological support are needed as residents are reeling from the tragedy.

La Guaira is one of Venezuela’s 23 states and is located in the north of the country, on the coast, and has faced immense tragedy in the past.

“Maritime and air gateway”

While La Guaira was the hardest hit, it wasn’t the epicenter – which was in the nearby state of Yaracuy, according to USGS.

But La Guaira is home to one of the largest seaports in Venezuela and the Simón Bolívar International Airport, which serves the capital, Caracas, and is the country’s most important airport.

It’s why the state is known as the “maritime and air gateway” to Venezuela.
“With a high population density concentrated in its metropolitan area, this state is an economic engine that drives Venezuela,” the country’s government says.

La Guaira borders the Caribbean Sea, the capital district, and the states of Aragua and Miranda.

“Its economic development is above the national average. The state’s strategic location, as Venezuela’s maritime and air gateway, gives it geopolitical and economic relevance,” according to the Venezuelan government.

It is one of the most populated states in the country and is estimated to have a population of around 300,000 inhabitants, according to the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado, a public educational institution in Venezuela.

No stranger to tragedy

La Guaira was previously known as Vargas state up until June 2019, when the state’s name change was made official.

Still called Vargas at the time, the state went through one of its most tragic moments in December 1999, when a landslide caused by torrential rains led to the death and disappearance of thousands of people. Houses and vehicles were buried under wave of thick mud.

The Red Cross at the time said that half a million people were affected. More than 10 days of flooding battered the capital and nine states. Rivers overflowed their banks and parts of the central coastal region were buried under mud, the Red Cross said in a report a year later.

Researchers from the Central University of Venezuela stated in an article that the 1999 tragedy resulted in about 15,000 people missing or dead, around US $3.5 billion in losses, the destruction of more than 15,000 homes, and approximately 75,000 people left homeless.

But the Venezuelan government never released an official death toll.

Water and sanitization became a top priority in the immediate aftermath of the infamous mudslide, with the Red Cross working with the state water company and the Venezuelan military to provide safe drinking water to people. Most of the water and sewage systems were destroyed in Vargas, and the country required assistance for months after the tragedy, with aid groups going in to address health and rehabilitation needs.

Much like the tragedy more than two decades ago, the full scale of destruction from the latest earthquakes may not be known for several days or weeks, as La Guaira’s residents reel from yet another disaster in their state’s history.

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