PASADENA, CA – Los Angeles-area residents with ties to Venezuela are facing an agonizing wait for news after powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck the South American country on Wednesday evening, causing catastrophic damage and a rising death toll.
Local Business Owner Shares Heartbreak
Yesika Baker, owner of the local restaurant Chamo Venezuelan Cuisine in Pasadena, spoke about the immense difficulty of watching the disaster unfold from thousands of miles away. Baker and her mother have spent hours trying to contact family and friends scattered across different cities.
“When you are outside your country, it’s very tough because you have so many friends and family there,” Baker said. “Right now, everybody is trying to call and text and email.”
Communication has been severely crippled due to widespread power outages and destroyed infrastructure across Venezuela, leaving many local families completely in the dark.
Seismologists Warn of Historic Devastation
The dual earthquakes, measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit close to the capital city of Caracas. According to local authorities, at least 164 people are confirmed dead and nearly 1,000 injured, but experts fear the reality on the ground is much worse.
Renowned Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones, based in Pasadena, emphasized the severity of the situation during a Zoom briefing, noting that the location of the quakes creates a worst-case scenario.
“This is close enough to Caracas that the USGS estimate of probable losses is extremely high, with the most likely that the casualty count exceeds 10,000 people,” Jones warned, pointing to the dense population and vulnerable residential structures.
LA County Rescue Teams On Standby
As rescue crews in Venezuela race against time to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings, Southern California is preparing to assist.
Los Angeles County search and rescue teams have been officially placed on standby. They are fully prepared to deploy to the disaster zone as soon as an international request is finalized.
Meanwhile, back in Pasadena, Baker is already looking toward recovery and community mobilization. “We try to help Venezuelans that are in there… We are going to be union again and try to help our country,” she said.
