World Tour: What the quake exposed

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

Venezuelans have spent more than two months rebuilding their lives after two consecutive earthquakes. The June 24th quakes have turned into one of the country’s worst natural disasters in history.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Dozens of foreign NGOs came to the rescue, saving more than 6,500 people under the rubble. But hundreds of buildings collapsed, and more than 40,000 remain missing.

WORLD’s Jenny Lind Schmitt has our report.

JENNY LIND SCHMITT: Linda Márquez lives in Caracas with her husband and two kids. The family was at home watching the FIFA World Cup while she made dinner.

Then, the earthquakes struck.

MARQUEZ: We sought cover and as glass fell around the kitchen, everything broke and, and… and nothing touched us. The living room was a mess, too. And as we prayed, we saw dust rising from the fallen buildings outside. And… and I really thought, “okay, we might be the next ones.”

Alejandra Perez is an electrical engineer from La Guaria, the hardest hit zone in Venezuela. She told WORLD the first earthquake felt like ocean waves. The second was like being inside a cocktail shaker. In a couple minutes, her whole neighborhood was flattened.

PEREZ: Going up the street, all the buildings had collapsed and we didn’t know what to expect… like, I couldn't see a thing because there was so much smoke coming from the buildings… then we saw our house remains and we couldn’t believe it

Marquez and Perez survived, but they lost their homes. They’re far from alone. The United Nations says nearly 18,000 Venezuelans are now homeless and living with family, friends, or in temporary shelters.

Here’s Marquez:

MARQUEZ: Of course, we… we’re in… a national mourning, because the blow was just too hard. Well, it’s one thing for us to tell you about it… but you’ll never… I mean, it can never compare with being there and seen block after block of buildings lying in ruins.

Jesús Armas is the president of Ciudadanía Sin Límites, a local NGO that monitors public services in Venezuela. Armas spent over a decade as an inspector of residential buildings in Caracas and La Guaira. He told WORLD that government neglect has made the crisis far more severe.

ARMAS:  This is because of years and years of corruption, of mismanagement of public services, of the electricity and water system in Venezuela.

Dozens of overseas NGOs rushed to disaster zones after the earthquakes, filling in the vacuum left by the Venezuelan government.

SOUND: NGO giving food to displaced Venezuelans

Elizabeth Nagel is the Latin America regional manager for Samaritan’s Purse, which has provided clean water, medical care, and more than 400 shelters for thousands of displaced people in La Guaira.

She says that beyond physical needs, Venezuelans long for spiritual healing and a renewed life purpose.

NAGEL: We are seeing people come back to our wash sites just for prayer. They don't even come back for water… And I think that's a testament to how God is moving the hearts of people here, whether they're believers or not.

Daily life continues to bring challenges. Small businesses are now reopening, but the cost of basic goods skyrocketed in the aftermath. But Nagel says the communities in Venezuela are strong:

NAGEL: The other thing that I really love that really struck me about the Venezuela people is… how they like connect as a community. And so even in the midst of tragedy and suffering, they're still able to come together and experience life together. And I think that's, that's really beautiful… that shows the strength that we don't normally see.

That’s this week’s World Tour. I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt.

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