Yajaira, 64, a grandmother from La Guaira, one of the worst-hit areas, recounted how she survived the devastating twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. A neighbour from the fourth floor knocked on her door asking for coffee, inadvertently saving her life. While she survived, her daughter and granddaughter remain missing, and her niece has been confirmed dead.
“While I was making coffee, the neighbour’s wife said, ‘It’s shaking.’ If I’d stayed in my room I would have been bricked in there. I stood there paralysed in the living room. I clutched a column, and my husband came in behind me,” Yajaira said. “I saw everything - I saw the buildings as they came crashing down on top of where I believe my granddaughter was trapped. How I got out of there alive, I don’t know.”
UK Public Raises £10 Million in Under a Week
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal has raised a whopping £10 million in well under a week, with funds supporting charities like Save the Children and Oxfam. The money is being used on the ground to provide medicines, water, hot meals, and emergency shelter. The appeal has been fronted by actor Adjoa Andoh MBE and writer Sir Michael Palin, and supported by celebrities including Joanne Froggatt, David Gandy, Sadiq Khan, and Joely Richardson.
So far, 96,000 buildings are believed to be damaged or destroyed, more than 2,500 people killed, and more than 12,400 injured. The La Guaira area is isolated between the mountain and the sea, making it challenging to reach the population, including many older people living alone.
Survivors Describe Desperate Conditions
Dunia de Barnola, Venezuela Country Director for DEC charity Action Against Hunger, said: “It’s a beach area with no functional toilets, no safe place to wash, and very limited access to drinking water. Caracas is a very small city, so everything is happening beside you. We are surrounded by death.”
Yajaira, now staying in a temporary shelter with her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and two dogs, said: “I don’t have any clothes, that’s what I need right now. I’ve swallowed so much dust, look at the state I’m in. I’ve lost everything, everything I had is gone. But I saved my life.”
Sir Michael Palin and Amanda Redman Urge Donations
Sir Michael Palin, who visited Venezuela last year, said: “I saw a beautiful country full of warm and resilient people. But even before these earthquakes, many families were struggling, and today millions of people are in need of humanitarian support. Parents and children are sleeping on the streets, and hospitals are overwhelmed. Thousands of people desperately need medical care. People are digging through rubble to find their families.”
Amanda Redman, ambassador for the British Red Cross, wrote exclusively for the Express: “It’s been 12 days since two devastating earthquakes hit Venezuela, and people are still trying to make sense of the devastation. At least 680,000 children now need humanitarian support - their homes, schools and sense of safety shattered in under a minute.”
DEC Chief Executive Thanks Public
Saleh Saeed, the DEC’s chief executive, said: “Once again, the British public has shown extraordinary generosity - we are incredibly grateful. Thank you. But far more help is needed now. Every pound raised means more lives saved. Families have lost everything, and many are still without shelter, food, or clean water. We must act quickly to reach them. Just £10 could provide essential hygiene supplies to help prevent disease, £25 could feed a family for a week, and £50 could provide shelter for three families who have lost their homes. Please give whatever you can today.”
