Yenny Yzcala and her eight-year-old daughter were trapped for four hours under the rubble of their home in Las Minas de Baruta, Caracas, following the devastating double earthquake that shook Venezuela on June 24, 2026. Her testimony, shared on Thursday by the human rights organization DDHH Vente Venezuela, gives a human face to a tragedy that has already claimed over 2,295 lives nationwide.
"On the day of the earthquake, my house was affected; it collapsed. My eight-year-old daughter and I were inside. They took four hours to rescue us from the rubble," Yenny recounted in front of the camera, her voice calm but filled with emotion.
Both emerged alive, although not unscathed: cuts, bruises, and superficial marks are the only physical remnants of a rescue that could have ended differently.
"Glory to God, we only have cuts and bruises and, well, marks that will eventually fade, but we lost everything there, materially," she added.
Today, Yenny seeks refuge at her mother’s house, where there is barely enough space for the two of them. Without a mattress to sleep on and with no food, her request is as urgent as it is minimal: "What we need most urgently is a mattress where my daughter and I can sleep. And, well, we also haven't received any help with food."
Yenny's case reflects a pattern that is repeated among the victims in the municipality of Baruta, one of the hardest-hit areas in the country.
On a national scale, the official death toll reached 2,295 as of July 1, while the UN estimated up to 50,000 missing and 6.76 million people affected. NASA identified nearly 58,870 damaged or destroyed buildings, and the UNDP estimated direct damages of 6.7 billion dollars, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP.
The earthquakes on June 24—magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, with epicenters in Yaracuy state and only 39 seconds apart—are the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Human rights organizations such as Provea, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have criticized the Venezuelan government's response for prioritizing the deployment of 14,000 military and police personnel focused on maintaining order, rather than providing effective humanitarian assistance to families like Yenny's.
Other harrowing testimonies have emerged in recent days: a 12-year-old boy rescued after 120 hours under the rubble in Macuto, and a couple who recorded a farewell video believing they would not make it out alive.
In the absence of official assistance, Yenny directly appealed to civic solidarity: "I invite those who can help the people who have been materially affected. I know there are also those affected who have lost family members; thank God, I didn’t lose anyone; we are managing to cope through it all."
Last Friday, a new earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 shook the area again, the strongest recorded since the original quakes, in a region where thousands of families are still awaiting the promised assistance.
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