Atlanta woman awaits word from family after deadly Venezuela earthquakes: "We are waiting every second."

Earthquakes struck parts of Venezuela Wednesday, killing close to 200 people and injuring more than 1,500. 

Experts warn the death toll is expected to rise.  

CBS Atlanta spoke with Jeanelle Evghill, a local woman whose family members are in some of the hardest-hit areas. Evghill said she has been glued to news coverage, anxiously waiting for word from loved ones in regions devastated by the quakes.

Normally, Evghill cooks at a local Venezuelan restaurant, but Thursday proved almost impossible to focus as she worried for her family's safety.

"It is too hard to open the restaurant today and feel like normal...the people of my country are not okay, but life is life," Evghill said.

Several of her family members including her brother, nephew, and uncle are stuck in areas that have sustained major damage following the earthquakes. 

A call from her brother around 2 a.m. Thursday brought some relief. "Somebody went to the area to give people free connection, and he called for three seconds," she explained.

The call was just long enough for him to say he and his son, Evghill's nephew, had survived. Their building, along with the one next door, had collapsed.

The family is still waiting for news about her nearly 60-year-old uncle, who lives alone in one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods.

"We are waiting every second. Nobody can go there because it is a closed area," she said.

The two earthquakes measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude.