Venezuelan Americans in NYC fear for loved ones back home after devastating earthquakes
QUEENS, New York (WABC) -- The devastating earthquake in Venezuela is impacting residents in New York City, who are on edge because they have been unable to reach their loved ones.
"I have my family there. My sisters, my brothers," said Venezuelan-American Ilian Davilla.
Davilla, like so many Venezuelans in the states are feeling powerless.
The destruction from the two earthquakes may leave thousands dead when the bodies are all counted.
In Jackson Heights, Queens, a neighborhood known as Little Caracas, Davilla said she feels blessed. She said she's heard from her sister, a doctor, but due to the rubble, it took a day for her sister to get back out to work.
"She told me it was awful. She can't move, she can't walk," Davilla said.
Hector Arguinzones works for Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, an organization that helps Venezuelan immigrants. So does Rosa Caballero. Both of them have missing relatives as well.
Arguinzones finally received a video from a friend, showing his parents and sister after they got out of their high rise.
He said he didn't know if they were OK or not.
However, during an interview with Eyewitness News, Arguinzones said there was another alert.
The building where his cousin Yvette and her husband live, collapsed, and no one knows where they are.
"How to explain it? You always have hope," Arguinzones said. "This feeling is now uncertainty of course. We have to wait until there is any confirmation."
For Caballero, who counsels migrants who had already fled an oppressive regime, she says there is disbelief and trauma.
"It's... I can't believe this is happening based on everything that has happened," said Caballero of the Venezuelan Alliance for Community Support.
Like so many, Caballero is awaiting word from her own brother as well.
"So, he doesn't have a telephone right now and we haven't heard from him," she said.
"They have nothing there. They have no food. They have no medicine. They have nothing. What's going to happen? I don't know," Davilla said.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Download our connected TV app
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
