Rabbi Hillel and Mushky Levinson were enjoying supper with their children at the home of her parents, Rabbi Yehoshua Dovid and Chana Rosenblum, directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Caracas, when the earthquakes rocked Venezuela in the evening hours of Wednesday, June 24.

“It began as intense shaking, and didn’t let up for almost 45 seconds,” Levinson told Chabad.org. “It’s very rare for an earthquake to go on that long, and it felt like an eternity. We couldn’t move, and huddled altogether under the dining room table, waiting it out.”

What shook Caracas on June 24 was not one earthquake but two. A magnitude 7.2 foreshock struck at 6:04 p.m. local time, followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5 mainshock — both centered in San Felipe, Yaracuy, in northwestern Venezuela. It was the strongest earthquake to strike the South American country since 1900.

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“Thank G‑d, our whole family was together,” says Levinson. “Much of the trauma for others was centred around not knowing how their families were doing, which was made even more difficult after the internet and phone lines went down for a short time. Baruch Hashem, we didn’t have to go through that.”

Rabbi Hillel and Mushky Levinson of Chabad of Caracas have been working tirelessly to check in with members of the community, and ensuring they have everything they need.
Rabbi Hillel and Mushky Levinson of Chabad of Caracas have been working tirelessly to check in with members of the community, and ensuring they have everything they need.

‘They Did Not Want to Be Alone’

The destruction spread across a wide swath of the country. La Guaira, the coastal city roughly 15 minutes from Caracas, was hit considerably harder than the capital: Entire residential towers of 20 to 30 stories came down, with some 160 buildings collapsing, and thousands of residents affected. Local rescue teams, supported by experienced emergency teams from around the world, are working with any tools at their disposal, including their hands, digging through the debris. At least 1,430 people were killed and more than 3,238 were injured; more than 68,900 remain unaccounted for.

There have been moments that have given hope, and added urgency, to the rescue efforts: At separate sites, two 11-year-old boys and a baby were rescued days after the quakes struck.

Venezuela’s Jewish community has also suffered losses. Katrina Kellner-Kraus, a woman in her 90s who lived in a Caracas building close to the Levinsons, perished in the earthquake. She was found in the rubble on Sunday morning, four days after the disaster. A second community member is still missing.

On Wednesday evening, following the earthquakes, Rabbi Levinson went to the Jewish social club and center Hebraica to check in on the community. He found some 500 to 600 people gathered there, many having come simply not to be alone.

“People were still catching their breath,” he said.

Even homes that remain standing have sustained significant damage.
Even homes that remain standing have sustained significant damage.

In the hours and days that have followed, Chabad of Caracas and other Jewish organizations have been working around the clock, calling and checking in on community members, ensuring food and other essentials are available. For Shabbat, two families joined the Levinsons at the Rosenblum’s home, with many others coming and going throughout the day. Levinson’s own apartment has sustained damage, but he says there will be time to fix it in the near future.

“At a time like this, the community just wants to be together,” he says. “The Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—sent us to be here for the Jewish community, in the good times and the not-so-good times. We’re facing a daunting recovery period, but with G‑d’s help, we will bounce back even higher, like the Jewish people always do.”

To support Chabad of Venezuela’s relief efforts, visit: HelpVenezuela.com.