Venezuela is struggling to manage the aftermath of devastating back-to-back earthquakes that claimed at least 1,430 lives when they struck the country's Caribbean coast last Wednesday. The disaster has overwhelmed the nation's forensic system as bodies arrive constantly at morgues across the capital and coastal regions.
At Bello Monte mortuary in Caracas, the reality of the crisis is evident daily. "The entire street was packed with people arriving with deceased relatives," said Camila Rodríguez, a psychology student offering emotional support to grieving families. Hundreds of buildings collapsed in the quakes, Venezuela's worst earthquake event in more than 125 years, leaving tens of thousands missing and creating scenes of overwhelming tragedy.
One family's experience illustrates the scale of loss. Marjorie Cedeño lost her mother, father and brother when their four-story apartment building collapsed in Los Palos Grandes, an upmarket neighborhood. By Friday evening, she had only identified her brother through a photograph shown by forensic police. Her parents remained buried beneath the rubble, with another 25 people believed trapped in the same building.
The country's existing forensic infrastructure has been completely inadequate for the disaster's scale. Many people have transported bodies in private vehicles to Bello Monte because it is less congested than the mortuary in La Guaira, the coastal region worst affected, which has collapsed under the pressure. Edgar Hernández, former president of Venezuela's National Funeral Homes Association, said undertakers across the country have donated more than 200 coffins, body bags and other supplies to support the response.
Venezuela's acting leader, Delcy Rodríguez, announced that rescue workers had saved 33 people still alive and that an 11-year-old boy had been found alive in the town of Caraballeda. Government rescue teams have been pictured using sledgehammers and stretchers to extract dust-covered survivors from rubble.
However, on the streets there is growing anger at what many perceive as a sluggish government response. Rodríguez was heckled by frustrated locals while touring a badly affected area, with one critic shouting "The government isn't doing anything for the people!" Experts blame years of underinvestment in emergency services for the inadequate official reaction.
In contrast to the slow government response, volunteers have provided water, coffee and trauma counseling to grieving families outside mortuaries and to hundreds of families sleeping on streets because they feared returning home. Marjorie Cedeño expressed gratitude for the community effort. "There may be no government response," she said, "but there are so many good people helping."