LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — More than 900 people are dead and tens of thousands are missing after catastrophic back-to-back earthquakes devastated Venezuela.
The coastal city of La Guaira is among the hardest hit areas, with entire buildings flattened. International search and rescue teams are now arriving to help, but efforts are complicated by severe damage to the main airport in Caracas, making it difficult to deliver aid and heavy rescue equipment.
From more than 3,000 miles away, the grief is being felt in Southern Nevada.
WATCH | Abel Garcia spoke with a local couple who have ties to Venezuela:
Inside Viva Las Arepas on the Las Vegas Strip, a restaurant serving traditional Venezuelan food has become a gathering spot and relief hub for the local community.
Bryce Henderson has lived in Las Vegas for years. His wife is Venezuelan, and nearly all of her family remains in Venezuela. When the earthquakes struck, their fears became reality.
"Anyone who has family there, going through that and trying to locate family members, when the horrific things you're seeing online and in the news," Henderson said.
Her uncle was among those affected.
"Her uncle was the last to be found and he had been injured. He was in the hospital, debris had hit him, his building had fallen and crushed his car," Henderson said.
Henderson and his wife also owned a condo in La Guaira, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquakes.
"I had bad thoughts right away," he said. "I didn't think it was going to survive."
The damage has been staggering, with estimates growing by the day.
"When you look at the amount of buildings that collapsed, maybe as many as 100 with hundreds in each one, they're thinking ten thousand," Henderson said.
Viva Las Arepas owner Alix Molina is turning her restaurant into a donation hub, collecting everything from money to first-aid kits, clothes and non-perishable food.
"These people are just like us. They care about their families," Henderson said.
Donations are being accepted at Viva Las Arepas, located at 1616 S. Las Vegas Blvd. The restaurant is open every day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
