Consider This from NPR - What's it like to search for loved ones after an earthquake?

Episode Date: July 2, 2026

It's been more than one week since twin earthquakes devastated northern Venezuela.As of Wednesday, the death toll from the earthquakes had soared to nearly 2,300 people, with more than 11,000 people injured, according to Venezuela's government.But behind the staggering numbers are the stories of people trying to pick up the pieces of their lives after a devastating event.NPR follows people as they search for loved ones in the aftermath of the earthquake.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Elena Burnett.It was edited by Tara Neill and Tinbete Ermyas.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

It's consider this where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, searching for loved ones in Venezuela. It has been more than one week since twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela. As of Wednesday, the death toll soared to 2,295 people with more than 11,000 injured. That's according to official data from Venezuela's government. Tens of thousands more are missing, and time is running out to find people alive in the rubble. That's a rescue worker shouting into a large void. in the middle of some rubble, announcing himself and asking any possible survivors to make noise.

Throughout the country, families and rescue workers are left to search for loved ones who might still be alive. Consider this. Behind the staggering numbers of the dead, missing and injured, are the stories of real people who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. We follow some people who are searching for their loved ones. From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. It's Consider This from NPR. The devastating. is vast in Venezuela. The death toll from the earthquake has reached nearly 2,300, more than 11,000 are injured, according to the official government count. Along the northern coast and the hardest hit areas, families of the missing have taken it upon themselves to dig through the rubble to find

their loved ones. And Pierre's Ader-Peralta recently joined some of them as they search for the missing. Just a few weeks ago, La Yavacito used to be an idealic little beach town, snack shops along the beach, thatched roof stores that sold swimware. Now dozens of people are sleeping outdoors in those same restaurants. On the hills, many of the high rises that looked out upon the Caribbean have crumbled. And the focus for all the neighbors is 10-year-old Moises. His dad, René Ramirez, has been here for seven days digging by hand with neighbors trying to find him under the rubble. of his apartment.

He's my middle child. When the earthquake struck, he was at home with his two brothers and his mom. They ran toward the door as the earth started shaking. His mom says when things started falling on her, she made eye contact with Moises. But he ran back into the house to try to save the family dog. Ramirez's wife and his two other kids were rescued from the wreckage, hours after the quake.

Without thinking, Ramirez slips into the past tense. Moises was a lovely, sweet kid, very playful. He was deaf and mute, but the whole neighborhood knew him because he found a way to make people laugh. His cousin, Alejandro Ramirez, says he would start joking as soon as he saw you. I didn't understand a thing, but he still made me laugh. As we talk, the neighbors working on the dig find some of his belongings. It means Moises must not be far.

That night I take a ride along the coast on a motorcycle, and the destruction is apocalyptic. Some buildings are pulverized, others have tipped over, the different floors are stacked neatly on top of each other. wherever you turn there is desperation. In Los Koko's Beach, I find Ivanozka Ortega, who was looking for Romel Parra, her best friend. He's like my brother, she says.

On her phone, she has a picture of Parra, his wife, and their little girl. He's making a silly face. The little girl is serious, dressed in her Sunday best. Ortega says she got a call from Parra two days ago. She picked up, but all she heard was static, like he was in a closed room. For seven days, they've searched alone trying to figure out which pieces of concrete they can remove safely. But finally, she was able to find a group of miners, experts in search and rescue, to come and help. They came with dogs and heat sensors.

It was a moment of hope. The miners get rinsio. to work, they want silence so they can hear if anyone is alive. They hear noises on top of the building and they climb quickly. Another man wiggles into a hole at the bottom of the building and he emerges with a video on his cell phone. It shows a woman trapped in the rubble hugging a little girl. Ortega just shakes her head as reality hits.

These were the most Christian people she knew, she tells herself. These were praying people. They prayed when they ate, when they left home, when they got in the car. A neighbor wraps her arms around her. They're with Christ, my love. And you're demonstrating what true friendship looks like. And you're demonstrating what true friendship looks like. The miners say it's too dangerous to pull out the bodies because they're already decomposing.

We did what we could, they say, and take off to the next building. Even eight days after the earthquake, miracles do continue to happen. A person was found alive on day eight, but not that night. That night, a nearly full moon rose over the wreckage, and the air smelled of death. In the corner of another building, the father quietly sobs. He's alone now. They had just pulled the bodies of both his kids, 10 and 15, out of the wreckage. His wife is still in there somewhere.

I'm so angry at the government that they just let us die here. He asked, we not use his name because he fears retribution from the government. We got no help, he says. They treated us like dogs. By the time we get back to the quiet beach town, it was past two in the morning. Finally, a crew with big machines had showed up. Boyce says his cousin, Alejandro Ramirez, leans against a truck. His eyes are heavy.

Yesterday I got to the point. where my body just couldn't take it anymore. But he's not leaving, he says, until Moises is out of the rubble. Those of us who are alive are living in a purgatory, he says. We don't know what is going to happen to us. The machine struggled with a huge boulder that ended up inside the apartment building.

It's painstaking work, the backhoe moves some dives some. dirt and everyone inspects it for signs of Moises. They search until the sun comes up, and around midday, they do find Moises. The boy, who one neighbor called impossibly beautiful, was laid to rest that same afternoon. Iter Pralta in Pier News, La Wida, Venezuela. This episode was produced by Jeffrey Pierre with audio engineering by Ted Mebain. Our director is Elena Burnett.

It was edited by Tara Neal and Ten Beat Armias. Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorney. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers.