Venezuelan Americans are searching for answers from thousands of miles away after devasting back-to-back 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday.
Dana Jimenez, an aid relief organizer in Houston, is from Caracas, one of the places rocked by the quakes.
“I was looking for my dad (for) 15 hours,” Jimenez told CNN affiliate KTRK. After posting pictures on social media, she made contact.
“(My dad) was able to send a voice (message) and say, ‘Hey, I’m okay, don’t worry, I’m helping other people.’”
Arnaldo Goita, owner of the Richmond, Virginia, food truck On the Grill RVA, returned from visiting his family in Venezuela two months ago.
“The room where I stayed in Caracas, where I slept, both walls came down. I have a cousin that almost lost his two daughters,” Goita told CNN affiliate WTVR.
While Jimenez and Goita have confirmed their family members are safe, not everyone has been that lucky.
Kelly Montano, owner of Full Arepas in Los Angeles, told CNN affiliate KABC that her parents were just north of Caracas during the quakes.
“They are missing. They were in one of the buildings that collapsed in La Guaira,” Montano said.
The first 48 to 72 hours are considered the most crucial for successful rescue efforts.
“By this time, almost more than 72 hours, it’s difficult to find them alive,” Montano said.
Jimenez, Goita, and Montano are collecting clothes, toiletries, baby items and non-perishable food for the victims in Venezuela.
“I don’t have time for crying,” Montano told KABC. “If we cannot help from over there, we can help from here.”