JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two catastrophic earthquakes over 7.0 magnitude rocked Venezuela, leaving a trail of destruction, claiming more than 3,000 fatalities, and thousands of severe injuries. Among the survivors of the disaster is a Jacksonville couple who witnessed their own apartment building split in half and collapse around them.
Adriana and Pancho Rodriguez had recently purchased an apartment in the coastal city of La Guaira, looking forward to a relaxing Father’s Day getaway. Instead, their vacation transformed into a brutal fight for survival.
The nightmare began mid-afternoon when Adriana was in the bedroom filming a video to show a friend her outfit. Suddenly, the ground violently shifted. Cell phone footage captured the immediate chaos, with screams of “¡Un terremoto! ¡Un terremoto!” (“An earthquake! An earthquake!”) echoing in the background.
As the electrical grid failed and plunged the apartment into darkness, Pancho rushed into the room. “Open, open!” he shouted, struggling to open the door, then pulling Adriana toward the living room.
From their 5th-story window, the couple watched in horror as neighboring structures began to fold. Seconds later, their own building collapsed.
“The building fell down, and then I can see how the kitchen, everything is flying, everything. The sound is terrible,” said Rodriguez.
The couple felt the front section of their apartment tilt violently. Before they could escape, the building split down the center, and the entire structure fell into a mountain of concrete and steel.
The Rodriguez family was instantly buried alive under the heavy rubble. Trapped in total darkness, Pancho began frantically kicking at the debris above them, desperate to find an escape route.
“He tried, he kicked a lot,” Adriana said. “When I see some light, I say, we survived.”
After clawing their way through the dust and wreckage, the couple emerged into the daylight. Miraculously, they escaped the total collapse with only severe bruising and lacerations requiring stitches.
“Estamos bien... estamos vivos” (“We’re okay... we’re alive.”), said Pancho on the sidewalk.
While the Jacksonville couple expresses immense gratitude to God for their survival, they are mourning the heavy toll as ten residents in their immediate apartment building were killed in the collapse.
Rescue workers and international aid agencies continue to dig through the debris across Venezuela. The death toll has officially surpassed 3,000.
Now the couple looks to go back and help as they say many are looking to get out or need money to pay hospital bills.
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