On the day that two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, Andreina Valerio rushed back from work to look for her almost two-year-old son, Santiago.

He was with Andreina’s partner, Ramsés Mendoza, at her in-laws’ home in La Guaira.

When she got there, she found the building in ruins. Her brother-in-law Samuel Mendoza was looking through the pile of rubble that used to be their apartment block.

When I met Andreina outside a crumbling building on Saturday, she told me her son and partner were still trapped inside, along with her partner’s mother, father, grandparents and sister. But she had not given up hope.

Andreina and Samuel told me there were other children trapped in the building, too – a nine-year-old boy named Lucas and a three-year-old girl named Aranza.

Rescue teams from El Salvador and Spain arrived at the scene on Saturday, but were unable to get inside. No one had been rescued from the building by that point.

The first morning after the earthquakes, Samuel said he “heard a woman’s voice, someone whose voice I couldn’t understand at first, and the only word was ‘help’.”

The next day, when Andreina went back, she heard a baby crying.

“I still have faith my son is alive,” she said. “I have faith that it’s my son. And I know my son will get through this, as will his family.”

Andreina and Samuel are two of many Venezuelans searching for loved ones in the rubble, holding out hope that they can be rescued after two massive earthquakes levelled hundreds of buildings across the country.

Rescue efforts intensify amid widespread destruction

Families are digging in the rubble with their bare hands in La Guaira, the coastal region which is one of the areas most badly affected.

Those I spoke to were sleep deprived, their voices hoarse from screaming for survivors.

As the hours passed on Friday, neighbours started to help, and people from other parts of Venezuela arrived to provide support.

Rescue teams are working hard across the country, but it seems Venezuela is unprepared to handle the earthquakes – and this is a country that has dealt with extreme crises for years.

When I arrived at the Hotel Edward, I could smell the death. You could feel that it would get worse over time. It seemed impossible that people would survive for long.

I saw more than 50 damaged buildings in the town of La Guaira. Official figures show more than 1,400 structures have been affected in the region.

Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, says the earthquakes are “the most disastrous event this republic has suffered in the last 123 years”. The official death toll for the country has risen to 1,430, with 3,238 injured.

But with tens of thousands still reported missing, emergency services are working around the clock to find survivors.

Several police and military officers could be seen on the streets of La Guaira. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has said 14,000 were sent to the state, which she says has been “militarised” for safety.

Volunteers step in as emergency response grows

At first, I could see just one small tractor on the street. Heavy machinery later appeared after what must have been a difficult journey via a small, broken road.

As the hours passed, some told the screaming families to be quiet, but their pleas were drowned out by the crowds and motorcycles.

Volunteers handed out medicine to anyone who needed it, and clothes were left in piles on the ground in the hopes they would be given to people in need.

At night, the situation in La Guaira became more desperate. Bodies were carried out by volunteers without specialised equipment, being hauled into cars and vans.

Ambulances were unable to get into the town, and our driver Leo saw injured people being driven away on the back of motorbikes because traffic was so heavy, particularly around a collapsed bridge nearby.

I also witnessed a tense moment of police trying to control a situation with a possible thief.

Relatives were camping in the streets, waiting for news of their loved ones. They are staying put because of concerns that the government will make the roads, and therefore their collapsed homes, inaccessible.

Delcy Rodríguez has said rescue teams from 10 nations were expected to arrive in La Guaira state on Saturday. Electricity in the region had been restored to 60%, she added.

People have been warned no to travel to La Guaira, with Jorge Rodríguez saying it has suffered “tremendous devastation”.

Hospitals struggle as families search for survivors

At a hospital in Caracas, which has received injured people from La Guaira in recent days, I spoke with a doctor who said at least 600 people had been brought there, most of them with fractures.

He also said patients had been traumatised, with some experiencing panic attacks.

A list of the dead and people being treated is displayed outside, in case people are looking there for their loved ones.

Some people have made posters of missing relatives and pinned them up next to the list.