TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Recovery continues in Venezuela as rescue teams pull survivors from the rubble after two massive earthquakes hit the country last week.
Harrowing video is coming from the teams on the ground, including of the rescue of a 3-year-old boy.
But even with over 5,000 people saved, the government now puts the death toll at over 2,000.
Those headlines are both hopeful and troubling for Bryan Chavez. The Tallahassee man is from coastal Venezuela, right near where one of those massive quakes struck.
He says his family is all alive, but not without some bruises and scrapes. He says his aunt and uncle lost their home, and now they’re living with his mother.
But right after the quake, he went more than 12 hours not knowing if they were okay.
“The most important part for me is, they were okay. You know, I had some other family members that like love their house. And so obviously none of the information come until later. Cause I think the most important part for me is like they were alive,” Chavez said.
His partner, Jordan Donahue, says Chavez is normally the calm one, but those hours not knowing took a toll.
“I woke up in the middle of the night that night and he wasn’t next to me and I, you know, I called down to him and he was just up by his phone, trying different ways to get in contact with them,” Donahue said.
Donahue now says many in that area are sleeping in tents and struggling to get the basics.
She started a GoFundMe that has already raised thousands of dollars to help Bryan’s family and neighbors.
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