The coastal state battered by Venezuela’s earthquakes is no stranger to tragedy | CNN

In Venezuela’s coastal state of La Guaira, which was hardest hit in the massive twin earthquakes on Wednesday, residents said they spent the night awake and reported that several people remained trapped in the rubble after severe damage to dozens of apartment buildings. “We felt the jolt, so to speak — the start of the earthquake. And it was very strong … we gathered out here and saw all the damage,” local resident José Terraza, 68, told journalists on the ground working on behalf of CNN. The buildings across the way from his home in Playa Grande collapsed, but his apartment building is still standing. Residents spent the long night outside, with whatever belongings they managed to grab, as they feared possible aftershocks. Cries of family members calling out for their missing loved ones pierce the air. Video on Venezuelan state television showed buildings missing facades, tilted on their foundations. What was left of other buildings were buried under piles of their own debris. Other video showed massive piles of debris as people climbed and searched around the colossal heaps. Other buildings were seen entirely crumbled on the ground. Smashed windows, broken pipes and sl