Venezuela earthquakes: Canada will provide $5M for humanitarian aid to support emergency relief efforts

How is Canada helping earthquake relief in Venezuela?

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the federal government will provide an initial $5 million in humanitarian aid to support emergency relief efforts in Venezuela.

The money will support "trusted and experienced partners" on the ground providing emergency assistance in the country, such as health and sanitation services, as well as protection and logistics services, according to Global Affairs Canada.

"We are seeing schools, hospitals, infrastructure being completely levelled, leaving people without food, shelter and the basic necessities of life. We wanted to just, 12 hours after coming into the knowledge of this devastating set of earthquakes, provide initial humanitarian aid that will be delivered by trusted organizations on the ground," Anand told CBC News after the announcement.

"If there is a [donation] matching program set up, we will look at the possibility of additional tranches of aid … but we wanted to get this aid out the door as soon as possible."

Anand echoed USGS in saying the death toll will continue to rise.

Venezuelan Montrealers worry for loved ones after pair of devastating earthquakes

With the death toll expected to rise, Venezuelans in Montreal are anxiously checking on loved ones and supporting each other as they watch the disaster unfold. Some fear the country's political climate could hinder international aid reaching those who need it most.

Marta Rincón, a Montrealer of Venezuelan descent, is waiting nervously to hear from two of her friends who haven't been in contact since yesterday's earthquakes struck.

"I don't know if their building is one of the buildings that collapsed," Rincón told CBC on Thursday. "It has been very disturbing."

For hours, fellow Venezuelan Montrealer Soraya Benitez feared the worst as she and her family waited for news from her brother in the hard-hit coastal region of La Guaira. When he finally got in touch, he recounted a terrifying escape.

"He told us that he went down the stairs with his family and, two or three seconds later, all the stairs and parts of the building collapsed," Benitez said.

"The situation is tough. … we know [the death toll] will be heavy. We're not doing well."

In the interview, Anand acknowledged that Canada's lack of formal diplomatic relations with Venezuela is a "challenge," but said the government is working with other countries and humanitarian organizations to ensure aid gets into the right hands.

"Engagement doesn't mean endorsement. We need to find efficient ways to help on an international scale and that's exactly what we're doing."

Anand said there are about 800 Canadians in Venezuela who are registered with Global Affairs.

She also said the federal government doesn't have any plans to reopen an embassy in Venezuela at this time.

"But we do always want to serve the interests of Canadians, Canadians abroad, and we want to make sure that we're able to distribute humanitarian aid."

One of the websites set up to help Venezuelans find missing loved ones says it has now received tens of thousands of reports about people who haven't been heard from.

As of 4:30 p.m. ET, Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela says out of more than 45,000 people who have been reported missing on the site, little more than 4,000 have been located.

Another website, Venezuela Te Busca, says it has received close to 20,000 submissions about people who are still missing.

Meriely Arias, a board member of the Venezuelan Canadian Society of British Columbia, told CBC News many people in the Venezuelan community have been desperately trying to reach family members back home.

She's heard from several people who said their family members are OK, "but it must have been agony knowing all the devastation and the buildings had collapsed and not knowing where your family members are."

CBC has also been able to verify before-and-after images that show the damage to the comptroller's office of the state of La Guaira.

The office is in heavily damaged Catia La Mar, a city and port about 20 kilometres northwest of Caracas.

Photos from Catia La Mar show scenes of devastation, with buildings reduced to rubble and people sifting through the wreckage. Others show casualties and displaced residents taking shelter in a stadium.

The photo above of the comptroller's office shows the building partially collapsed, shifted backward, with rubble in the street below it.

'Our thoughts are with the Venezuelan people' after deadly earthquakes, Poilievre says

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said 'Canadians will be there to support' Venezuelans as the death toll rises after two earthquakes struck near the country's capital on Wednesday. 'We hope that we can minimize the losses and give the Venezuelan people relief in this terrible time,' Poilievre said.

At a news conference in Ottawa today, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his thoughts were with the Venezuelan people "as they deal with this terrible natural disaster."

"I know that Canadians will be there to support Venezuelans and family members, thinking of their loved ones in that country. So our thoughts and prayers are with them," he said.

Poilievre added he was happy to hear the prime minister offer to send humanitarian aid to the country today.

"I thank him for that, and we hope that we can minimize the losses and give the Venezuelan people relief in this terrible time."

Poilievre's wife Anaida was born in Caracas and immigrated to Montreal with her family in 1995.

He and his wife have been talking a lot about the situation since yesterday, Poilievre said.

The 2 earthquakes that hit Venezuela were very unusual, says seismologist

Two earthquakes hit Venezuela Wednesday and a state of emergency has been declared in the country. CBC’s Stephen Quinn spoke with Earthquakes Canada seismologist Allison Bent about the science behind them and what we know so far.

As Venezuelans search for loved ones, they're also remembering the terrifying minutes that everything shook.

Ivanna Laura, 33, in Caracas: "It was a strong movement. I had never in my life lived something like that. I got nervous when I realized I was probably in an old building, and I started to think it could fall. We aren't used to this here. I was like, 'What do I do?' Do I run, do I go out, do I stay here? What do I do?"

Cesar Maican, 29, in a high-rise apartment building in Caracas: "When it started coming out in the news that there were two of them, I started remembering and yeah, there was a moment when it stopped maybe for five seconds. We said, 'let's go to the stairs!' And then it came back even stronger. The apartment was like a piece of paper. The living room went one way and then the other. We were screaming. I don't think I've ever screamed that much in my life. I've been through small earthquakes, but nothing like this. There was a moment I lost faith, and I said, 'we're not getting out of here.'"

Alejandro Narvaez, 40, was on the eighth floor of the apartment where he lives with his mother: "I tried to stay calm for her, but in fact, I was really, really worried. We were sitting in the living room, I tried to hold her, she was praying, and I just kept saying, 'stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.' I was actually really worried."

Damage could also be seen in Valencia, Venezuela's third-largest city.

Photos show cracks running through the Basílica Catedral de Valencia. In an Instagram post on Thursday, parish priest Joel de Jesús Núñez Flautes wrote that both towers of the cathedral are fractured and the cathedral and parish office will be closed until further notice.

"Let's keep Venezuela in our prayers," Flautes wrote in Spanish.

At least 188 people have been killed by the twin earthquakes, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly said Thursday afternoon.

Jorge Rodriguez says another 1,520 people have been reported injured and 200 are known to be trapped.

Earlier, Venezuelan officials said initial casualty figures did not include those killed and injured in the hard-hit coastal region of La Guaira.

Canada to provide Venezuela earthquake humanitarian aid, Carney says

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is looking to direct humanitarian aid to Venezuela as death tolls rise after two earthquakes struck near the country's capital on Wednesday. Carney added that Venezuela and Iran are examples of countries where Canada lacks a diplomatic presence, 'and that puts us at a disadvantage.'

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is preparing to provide humanitarian assistance in Venezuela.

"This obviously is a fast-developing tragedy," Carney said at a news conference in Ottawa. He said Canada is "moving to provide humanitarian aid" and that more details are expected later today.

Carney said Canada is working directly with international partners and will "scale those [efforts] as appropriate." He said that responding to the disaster is complicated by Canada's limited diplomatic presence in Venezuela.

"One of the challenges I've discovered… is that there are a series of countries with whom we have not seen eye to eye, to put it mildly, where we do not have representation in the countries," he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the suffering is "heartbreaking" and "many are facing unbearable days ahead without shelter, food or certainty."

Global Affairs Canada officials are in touch with regional partners and aid groups, and Anand said Canada will "contribute to humanitarian efforts as appropriate."

Canada and Venezuela have not formally severed relations but Ottawa closed its Caracas embassy in June 2019 after Venezuela refused to renew expiring visas for diplomats.

Canada is one of several countries supporting Venezuelan opposition leaders following an election that was widely viewed as stolen.

-With files from The Canadian Press