On June 24, two earthquakes of rare magnitude struck Venezuela seconds apart, killing over 4,800 people and causing hundreds of buildings to crumble. The state of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast was the hardest hit, where entire buildings collapsed in seconds.
The UN estimates that 50,000 people are missing, with many more feared dead under the rubble. Despite the scale of the disaster, help had not arrived for tens of thousands of those missing.
Most Venezuelans have now stopped searching and begun mourning. Grieving survivors who spent days returning to the ruins of their homes are beginning to settle into temporary shelters set up by the government in schools and parks as the focus shifts to rebuilding.