PASADENA, CA – Los Angeles County’s Venezuelan diaspora is waiting anxiously for news from loved ones after back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes caused widespread destruction in Venezuela Wednesday evening.
Local Business Owner Shares Heartbreak
Yesika Baker, owner of Chamo Venezuelan Cuisine in Pasadena, described the agonizing experience of watching the disaster unfold from thousands of miles away.
Baker and her mother have spent hours trying to contact friends and family scattered across different cities, but communication has been severely disrupted due to infrastructure damage and massive power outages across Venezuela.
Rising Casualties And Catastrophic Damage
The powerful twin quakes have left widespread devastation, with rescue crews racing to reach survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
- Current Toll: At least 32 people are confirmed dead and over 700 injured, according to Acting Venezuela President Delcy Rodríguez.
- Projections: Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones warned that because the quakes hit close to Caracas, the ultimate casualty count could catastrophically exceed 10,000 people.
LA County Responders Ready To Deploy
In response to the massive scale of the disaster, search and rescue teams based in Los Angeles County have been placed on standby. Local crews are fully prepared to deploy to Venezuela to assist with the recovery efforts if requested by international authorities.
Meanwhile, local community members like Baker are already pivoting toward relief efforts, organizing support systems to send aid back to their home country.
