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A Toronto resident with family members in Venezuela says his aunt and cousin are missing after two major earthquakes rocked the South American country Wednesday in quick succession.
Officials say the earthquakes have killed at least 188 people, injured more than 1,500 and left more than 200 trapped.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century. The coastal state of La Guaira, north of the capital, Caracas, was among the hardest hit.
Rafael Miranda, a line cook at The Arepa Republic, a Toronto restaurant that serves Venezuelan cuisine at the Waterworks Food Hall, said his aunt and cousin, Daysy Lorena Martinez and Nickol Patricia González, are missing in Naiguatá, a city in La Guaira.
Miranda said he is in contact with his mother and friends, but he is worried.
“I mean it’s stressful. You still have to do your life. You’ve got to focus on what’s going on,” Miranda said. “Thank God my family is good.”
He was supposed to fly to Venezuela on Saturday but is not likely to go now. He has a list of about 20 buildings in Naguita that are destroyed.
“Venezuela is not prepared for something like this, not prepared at all. People are digging stuff with their hands trying to help… We don’t have the equipment. We don’t have the people.”
A notice shared with CBC News about his missing relatives says in Spanish: “Family members haven’t been able to reach them out and we are waiting for news.”
Rafael Miranda, a line cook at a restaurant that serves Venezuelan cuisine in Toronto, says of his worry over two missing relatives: ‘I mean it’s stressful. You still have to do your life. You’ve got to focus on what’s going on.’ (CBC)
Luis Cordoba, owner of The Arepa Republic, said it’s hard to help from Canada given the distance. He said most information is coming from social media, not from the government. It’s hard to concentrate on work given the extent of suffering there, he added.
“It’s hard. I’m here but I’m not here. I’m here but my mind is over there right now,” Cordoba said.
‘Venezuela was already crumbling,’ Toronto resident says
Another Toronto resident with family members in Venezuela say she is in shock after hearing about the earthquakes.
Yenipher Crespo, who is originally from Venezuela but has been in Canada nearly 10 years, said the news is devastating. Crespo is the only member of her family in Canada. Most of her family members are in the state of Táchira near the Colombian border.
“I’m pretty shocked still,” she said. “Venezuela is already going through so much… Venezuela was already crumbling.”
Crespo said seeing the news is heartbreaking. Her mother, who is also not in Venezuela, texted her about the earthquakes shortly after they happened. Her mother said her grandmother, who lives in Venezuela, was alright even though she felt the tremors. Then Crespo found out her father and aunt were also okay.
Thursday morning, Crespo said she spent an hour on her phone to find out more news.
“As a Venezuelan, I feel this is another thing that is happening to us … We have to, of course, move forward and live through it. But it’s just heartbreaking to see this happening to my people, my country, all of us.”
Motorcyclists ride along a road cracked by earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, a day earlier on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Javier Campos/The Associated Press)
Rahul Singh, executive director of GlobalMedic, a Toronto-based disaster relief charity, said the organization has reached out to the Venezuelan government and offered to deploy its drone team, family emergency kits, aqua response units and emergency food kits.
“Venezuela has it rough right now,” Singh said Thursday. “There is a lot of people in need. If people are in trouble and need our help, we’re going to be there.”