As Venezuela responds to the devastation of the earthquake, volunteers are working | Stories About Earthquakes

Catia la Mar, Venezuela – Andreina Velasquez looks out from her multi-bedroom apartment overlooking Catia la Mar, a coastal city in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira. The concrete slabs that used to separate the floor of each room are now placed on top of each other.

“He fell like a pack of cards,” he said, pointing to where he lived on the sixth floor.

Velasquez feels lucky. He left his home a few hours before the deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 respectively.

He had gone to cut new keys and was on the beach when the first earthquake struck.

His neighbors couldn’t. He remembers that one was a quiet, retired man, the other was a woman with a young daughter who had just moved. They were very happy with the way they saw the sea.

Velasquez is still struggling to recover from his loss. His country was in one of the worst earthquakes.

But despite his grief, he has begun handing out face masks to passers-by, hoping to protect them from the dust from the collapsed buildings and the stench emanating from the ruins.

“I’ve been here every day. Some people come to help, but they don’t have helmets, they don’t have gloves, they don’t have masks. That’s why I’m helping,” he said.

More than 2,295 people have died and 11,000 have been injured in the two earthquakes, according to the National Assembly of Venezuela. The United Nations has warned that the death toll could rise to 10,000.

As Venezuela continues to grapple with the devastation, experts say recovery efforts have been driven largely by volunteers and neighbors like Velasquez.

Hospitals are overcrowded, and government aid has been slow to reach the worst-hit areas.

Carolina Jimenez, president of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a research and advocacy group, told Al Jazeera that the results are fueling anger at the government.

“In any government in any country, the first responder should be the government,” he said. “In the case of Venezuela, the government has been the last to respond.”

In areas like Catia la Mar, north of Caracas, government officials have not come or are missing.

Velasquez and other locals say aid from the government arrived on Sunday – three days after the earthquake hit the country. In some areas of La Guaira, such support has not arrived at all.

“(The) response has come from citizens, government agencies, humanitarian workers, volunteers – but not the government,” Jimenez said.