{"success":true,"data":{"id":"498a95e6-d46f-4dd1-863e-ea84be03188c","title":"‘All we see is decay’: Covering the human toll of Venezuela’s earthquakes","summary":"Navigation menu NewsShow more news sections More Show more sections Click here to search Navigation menu REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK ‘All we see is decay’: Covering the human toll of Venezuela’s earthquakes As the death toll in Venezuela surges past 4,000, families continue to hold out hope that their loved...","content":"Navigation menu\n*   [News](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/)Show more news sections\n\n*   More Show more sections\n\nClick here to search\n\nNavigation menu\n\nREPORTER'S NOTEBOOK\n\n# ‘All we see is decay’: Covering the human toll of Venezuela’s earthquakes\n\n_As the death toll in Venezuela surges past 4,000, families continue to hold out hope that their loved ones might still be found._\n\nListen (5 mins)\n\nSave\n\nClick here to share on social media\n\nAdd Al Jazeera on Google\n\nMaria Alejandra Sanz, 17, stands with her father Alejandro Sanz, as they look at the remains of their apartment building in La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 5 [Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]\n\nBy [Alasdair Brenard](https://www.aljazeera.com/author/alasdair-brenard)\n\n**La Guaira, Venezuela –**The smell of death grows stronger as we climb to the top of a collapsed building on the seafront of Venezuela’s La Guaira, a state that has been decimated by back-to-back earthquakes in June.\n\nAl Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi and I have flown in with the Qatar International Search and Rescue Group to document the fallout from this devastating natural disaster.\n\n## Recommended Stories\n\nlist of 3 items\n*   list 1 of 3[‘A nightmare’: Struggling with the aftermath of Venezuela’s earthquakes](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2026/7/3/a-nightmare-strugging-with-the-aftermath-of-venezuelas-earthquakes)\n*   list 2 of 3[How a son rescued his father from the rubble of Venezuela’s earthquakes](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2026/7/5/how-a-son-rescued-his-father-from-the-rubble-of-venezuelas-earthquakes)\n*   list 3 of 3[A quest for closure: In search of the missing after Venezuela’s earthquakes](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/7/9/a-quest-for-closure-in-search-of-the-missing-after-venezuelas-earthquakes)\n\nend of list\nThe fetid smell hangs heavily as the Qatari team, alongside the Syrian White Helmets, attempt to separate a body from a tangle of concrete and tiles, their toil made harder by the intense midday sun.\n\nAs the buried person is unearthed, stale waves of decay emanate outward, and despite my face mask, I’m forced to suppress a gag and the urgent need to turn away.\n\nSince the earthquakes struck on June 24, the death toll has been steadily climbing, currently standing at more than 4,300.\n\nAs we travelled along the coast of La Guaira to the city of Catia La Mar, that number felt low.\n\nOur car picked its way slowly around the debris littering the road. All around us, the surrounding buildings are in unrecognisable states.\n\nThere are pancaked low-rise houses where roofs now sit directly on top of their ground floors. Taller buildings have collapsed on their sides like slain giants. One large housing complex had its exterior stripped away, displaying the domestic settings once hidden inside. It teetered perilously on buckled columns.\n\nAn aerial drone shows the collapsed skeleton of a high-rise apartment in La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 4 [Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]\n\nThe United Nations has estimated that 50,000 Venezuelans are missing in the wastelands of rubble.\n\nJanet Viana, a 72-year-old resident who survived the quakes, is hoping to recover her son. When I met her, she was gazing up at a tower atop a hill by the coast. Its walls had collapsed, and twisted metal, encased in chunks of concrete, had spilt out of its sides.\n\nGet instant alerts and updates based on your interests. Be the first to know when big stories happen.\n\nYes, keep me updated\n\nViana told us that the government hasn’t supplied any assistance or heavy machinery to help recover the bodies inside, including her son. The government informed residents that the building would be demolished in a few days.\n\n“I hope I can get my son’s body back before they tear it all down,” she said. “That’s all I hope for. What else can we hope for when there’s been no response?”\n\nWhile the earthquakes have prompted a public backlash against Venezuela’s socialist-run government, supporters have pointed to efforts officials have taken to address the crisis.\n\nThe Venezuelan military has secured a number of sites in La Guaira, and the government set up an aid station, offering not only food and water, but also medical supplies and hardware, such as helmets, spades, saws, etc.\n\nThe governor of La Guaira, Jose Alejandro Teran, told us that the government’s response to the earthquakes was immediate and that workers were responsible for rescuing more than 6,000 people from the ruins.\n\nBut many Venezuelans told us they had to take rescue efforts into their own hands, without the help of the government.\n\nWhen we met 30-year-old Javier Villegas, he was working his way in and out of a building that is leaning as though it could come crashing down at any moment.\n\nHe said there are about 38 bodies trapped inside, but that the government “won’t send anyone in because they will be at risk”.\n\n“Yes, I know they will be at risk, but there are people still in there, and I just don’t understand the humanity of this government,” he said, adding that he has been searching for his aunt every day since the earthquake struck.\n\n“I haven’t lost hope that she will be rescued alive. It’s been nine days now, and we still haven’t heard anything,” he said. “All we see is decay, but we’re still fighting to get our loved ones out.”\n\nRelatives and rescue workers search a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 9 [Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo]\n\nEven though Villegas and Viana have not given up hope, they know time is running out. Soon, the heavy machinery will arrive, and the buildings will be crushed together and cleared away, along with all the furniture, photos and loved ones still stuck inside.\n\nAs the days passed and our reporting team continued to traverse the destruction, more bodies were discovered. The use of quicklime had become ubiquitous to mask the smell and delay putrefaction.\n\nOne day, we noticed that digging and excavation work had been paused at a site to allow for the recovery of a woman who died beneath the rubble.\n\nI avoided looking directly at her as she was lifted from the site, the viewfinder of my camera acting as a physical barrier between me and what was unfolding.\n\nHer body was unrecognisable, but the discovery of a necklace was used to ascertain her identity.\n\nMoments later, two serious-looking men in black approached the camera crew and me. Alex, a producer on our team, said they might be police as he translated their demand to view the footage on my camera.\n\nWe calmly assured them that Al Jazeera has a clear policy to never broadcast human remains. One of the men turned to me and looked directly in my eyes before forcing out four words in English: “She is my mother.”\n\nIt was his wish to protect his mother’s dignity and avoid her death being sensationalised in the media.\n\nIn that moment, I needed to stop, overcome by the scale of the tragedy. I needed to get away. But for the residents of La Guaira state, they continue to face the horror of this new reality every day.","source_name":"Al Jazeera","source_url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/11/all-we-see-is-decay-covering-the-human-toll-of-venezuelas-earthquakes?traffic_source=rss","url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/11/all-we-see-is-decay-covering-the-human-toll-of-venezuelas-earthquakes?traffic_source=rss","author":"Unknown Author","author_name":"Unknown Author","published_at":"2026-07-11T19:15:10.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-11T19:15:10.000Z","image_url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/reuters_6a528de5-1783795173.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":6,"word_count":1122,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}