The steep mountainside roads that once snaked through the sprawling Caracas shanty town of Blandin have vanished under sheets of rock and tree trunks, crushed concrete and mangled tin roofs.
Cars have been hurled through the walls of what used to be kitchens and bedrooms. The bodies of four people were still entombed in one of the flattened vehicles on Monday, a numbing image of the swift destruction that swept through Blandin last week, leaving nearly a quarter of the district's 4,000 residents dead or missing.
Major increases in international aid were announced yesterday as survivors sifted through debris to salvage what possessions they could.
Carmen Leon stood behind a blown-out window in her gutted home longing for her 71-year-old father.
"He was inside the house and the water just carried him and everything else away. We are still looking for him but he is probably dead, buried alive like most of the other victims were," she said, as a photograph of the elderly man flapped in the breeze on a nearby wall.
A flight in a military rescue helicopter over a stretch of coast in Vargas state, north of Caracas, showed enormous devastation. Los Corales, a town of apartment buildings near La Guaira, the state capital, looked like a lunar landscape, its streets and parking lots covered with piles of broken rocks and dirt.
A handful of people milled about outside a row of buildings, all of which appeared to be abandoned.
Several hundred yards down the coast, throngs of people carrying their possessions poured on to a Venezuelan warship.
"All day and night, there are huge numbers of desperate people walking around the beach like zombies," said Major Jesus Rodriguez, of the Venezuelan National Guard.
"When the groups are big enough on the beach we just land and herd them on board [helicopters] and hope the best for them once we arrive back at the base," he said. "Riding with them, you can almost feel the anxiety that they are suffering."
Dozens of people swarmed around a helicopter to grab supplies, using wheelbarrows and wheelchairs to haul them away. Within minutes, 18 people boarded the aircraft, the maximum number it could carry. The helicopter has made about 80 runs daily since the weekend, during one of which a woman gave birth.
"I think everything is going to be okay now. We lost everything, but now we are going to a better place," said one of the survivors, Dolly Fepez (12), anxiously clutching a large tape player as the helicopter flew close to mountains.
In the Caracas district of Blandin, Jose Laya (52) surveyed the ground where his home of 11 years stood.
"I have lived through one earthquake and other terrible things, but nothing in my life has compared to this," he said. "I will never forget the chaos and yelling . . . and the loud roar that the floods made. You can never forget something so savage."
The mounting toll has started an international relief effort. The Clinton administration announced that the US was spending $3 million for supplies and sending 10 military helicopters and seven large cargo planes to the flood zone.
Other nations also are rushing aid to Venezuela. Britain made an initial contribution of about $803,000. Spain sent 400 camp beds, 2,000 sheets of plastic and water sterilisation plants. The Chinese embassy said Beijing would donate $50,000 to the Venezuelan Red Cross. Switzerland said its Red Cross and Caritas charity had pledged $314,000, in addition to the $392,500 the government already offered.
Mexico has flown in 43,275 tons of food, 1,270 mattresses, 1,740 blankets, 49 tents and 2,020 pairs of shoes, its embassy said.
Cuba, which has friendly relations with the Venezuelan government, sent eight tons of medical supplies and other equipment. (Washington Post Service)
Agencies add:
The United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday it would start a rapid-response emergency operation for victims of the floods.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appealed for $2.8 million.
The Government has announced an initial allocation of £400,000 in emergency aid for victims of the floods in Venezuela. The allocation was announced by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, The Minister, Mr Andrews, yesterday expressed sympathy to the government and people of Venezuela. He said Ireland would play its full part in supporting Venezuela at its time of loss and devastation.