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The Venezuelan firefighter Frank Morey has been spending days clearing debris in the areas most devastated by the earthquakes on June 24, 2026 in Venezuela, and his testimony collected by the Cuban magazine Juventud Técnica portrays a catastrophe that, according to him, no image on social media can capture in its true magnitude.
From Maiquetía, Catia La Mar, and Playa Grande —the coastal strip that connects Caracas to the Caribbean Sea and is home to many old and vulnerable buildings—, Morey describes what he encounters each day: "It's like a war zone. There are countless collapsed buildings, many people on the streets. They lost everything. It's a city completely in ruins."
The double earthquake —with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, occurring just 39 seconds apart— shook the northern part of the country at 6:04 PM local time, with its epicenter near Morón, Yaracuy state. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) classified it as the strongest seismic event in Venezuela since 1900 and issued a Red Alert, estimating a 42% probability of between 10,000 and 100,000 fatalities.
The official balance of the Venezuelan government as of July 1 was 2,295 dead and 11,267 injured, figures that international organizations consider to be far below reality: the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing and 6.76 million affected.
Morey is no stranger to large-scale tragedies. In August 2022, he traveled to Cuba to support rescue efforts following the fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, where the blaze raged for days and left firefighters missing. Now Venezuela is the one receiving international aid, and he is once again on the front lines.
One of the moments that had the greatest impact on him was the collapse of a structure where a children's sleepover was taking place. "When we arrived, there were between 15 and 20 kids. That structure collapsed completely. I was talking to my wife, who is also a firefighter, and I said to her, 'I don't want to be here right now,'" he recounted.
The task of informing families about what the teams find among the debris is equally heart-wrenching. "We wish we could tell them: 'Your loved one is safe.' But we can't. Yesterday, we recovered several bodies that were handed over to their families. Just imagine that moment. It's not easy."
Alongside Morey, more than 2,200 rescuers from at least 17 countries are working. Cuba sent an initial contingent of 13 specialists with three trained dogs on June 28, and a second group from the Henry Reeve Contingent arrived in Valencia on June 29. The Cuban community in Venezuela was also severely affected: a family of six was found dead under the rubble in La Guaira on June 30, and at least 30 Cubans remain missing.
The conditions for the rescuers are extreme: makeshift camps, hardly any comforts, and long hours with no rest. Morey recalls that they had gone almost five days without a cold drink when a neighbor gave him a popsicle. "I kept it in my uniform pocket for two days because I didn't have time even to eat. In the end, I ended up giving it to someone else."
Despite the exhaustion, the firefighter refuses to falter. "We are human. We hear people crying, and we also want to cry, but we can't give in. They need our help, a hug, a word of encouragement. We don't know how long we will be here, but we have to hold on and push forward."
NASA estimated that about 58,870 buildings were damaged or destroyed across the country, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) calculated direct economic damages at 6.7 billion dollars.
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