Venezuela earthquakes leave La Guaira families in tents with little water
One month after deadly quakes, La Guaira residents say they lack safe water, working showers and clear help to return home.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
4 min read
A month after the Venezuela earthquakes, La Guaira residents displaced from the Brisas de Maiquetía housing complex say they are living in donated tents, short on safe water and unsure when they can return to their apartments, NBC News reported.
The quakes killed thousands in Venezuela, according to NBC News, and left parts of La Guaira battered. At Brisas de Maiquetía, a development near the international airport serving Caracas, hundreds of people who lost access to their homes are now sheltering under tarps and tents beneath damaged buildings.
Resident Ray Cazorla, who has lived at the complex for nearly 16 years, told Noticias Telemundo that aid has been thin and claimed international supplies either have not been allowed in or have not reached residents. He said families are coping with heat and humidity inside the tents by wiring fans themselves to power poles.
What is happening in La Guaira after the Venezuela earthquakes?
Families at Brisas de Maiquetía say they are stuck between damaged apartments and cramped temporary shelters. Some residents told Noticias Telemundo they fear going back inside their buildings, while others risk brief trips upstairs to recover belongings, shower or protect what remains from theft.
The complex was built through the Great Housing Mission, a Venezuelan state program launched under the late President Hugo Chávez in 2011 to provide social housing for low-income families and people affected by disasters.
Cazorla said engineers who inspected the buildings told residents the problems were limited to masonry and brickwork, not the main structure. He disputed that assessment, saying one tower has a damaged main beam and that cracked stairs make him afraid to move heavy appliances out of his apartment.
Residents were previously sleeping outside the development, NBC News reported. After interim governor Delcy Rodríguez visited the area on July 15 to review relief work, residents said they were told to move back into the complex and use the donated tents.
How are families getting water and showers?
Residents said drinking water does not reliably reach the development. Water filtration tanks installed by the Cadena Foundation, a humanitarian organization connected to the global Jewish community, have helped, but residents said the system is so slow that filling a five-liter pot can take an entire day.
Other tanks, including some recovered from the debris, are filled from street water that residents described as yellow and unsuitable for drinking. They said they use it for bathing and cooking.
More than 3,000 people live in the area, NBC News reported, and residents said there are only 10 public showers for about 600 families. A young couple told Noticias Telemundo they had repaired and maintained the showers themselves, but water runs out when children use the tanks without supervision.
Cazorla warned of mosquitoes, flies and standing rainwater, saying residents worry about diseases such as cholera or dengue. Neighbor Nora Romero said children already have diarrhea, flu and cough symptoms, and that rubble still has not been cleared.
Residents say they fear theft, delays and no clear way out
Some tents have been made more livable with plants, family items or cement floors. Residents also said looting has hit the development and other parts of La Guaira. Messages painted on some walls warn neighbors to stay alert or say an apartment has already been looted.
Andrea Debur, who lives in a tent with her partner, Leonexis Sequeda, and their daughter, told Noticias Telemundo that officials photographed damage and left. She said two walls that were built later collapsed, and that upper-floor residents have not received clear answers despite damage in their apartments.
Debur said she wants to leave but sees few options because businesses, supermarkets, pharmacies and banks in the state have also been affected. She previously worked at the airport, which NBC News reported has not resumed operations, and said she is afraid to return to damaged structures.
Residents told NBC News that La Guaira Gov. José Alejandro Terán has visited the neighborhood twice, but said they have not felt meaningful assistance. NBC News reported it contacted the governor’s office for comment and received no response.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.