South Florida Venezuelans plead for help finding relatives missing after deadly earthquakes

As rescue crews in Venezuela continue searching through collapsed buildings following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday, many Venezuelans in South Florida are desperately seeking answers about missing loved ones.

Relief efforts grow as community sends aid back home

At donation centers across Miami-Dade County, members of the Venezuelan community are collecting supplies for victims while anxiously waiting for news from home. For many, volunteering has become a way to cope with the uncertainty and grief.

At El Arepazo, a well-known Venezuelan restaurant and gathering place in Doral that has become a hub for relief efforts, CBS News Miami met several residents who have not heard from family members since the disaster.

Juan Andrade has been unable to contact his aunt, cousin and their children.

"We're actually trying to find them and still waiting for an answer," Andrade said.

Nearby, Mariana Roufett packed boxes of humanitarian aid while thinking about her childhood friend and her family, who remain missing.

"They're a family of four — dad, mom and two kids," Roufett said. "Their boy is six, the girl is two years old. They were in La Guaira and we haven't heard about them since the day of the earthquakes."

Families hold onto hope as rescue crews search collapsed buildings

The twin earthquakes caused catastrophic damage in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira, leaving hundreds of buildings collapsed, severely damaging infrastructure and causing widespread casualties.

Despite reports that the first 72 hours after a disaster are often the most critical for finding survivors, Andrade said he refuses to lose hope.

"We still have some hope. We trust in Jesus a lot and we have a lot of hope that they're somewhere," he said.

Roufett said neighbors told her they saw her friend's family get into a car before the building where they lived collapsed, but it remains unclear whether they managed to escape.

"We have to be hopeful," she said in Spanish. "We rely on our faith."

For some, earthquake brings devastating loss and heartbreak

For another South Florida family, however, the news was devastating.

Pedro Brito learned that his brother and sister-in-law were found dead beneath the rubble of their apartment building.

"My brother and his wife were found lifeless under the rubble of the building where they lived," Brito said.

Fighting back tears, Brito said his brother and sister-in-law died while protecting their 12-year-old son, Samuel.

According to Brito, neighbors heard the boy calling for help and began removing debris with their bare hands on Friday morning. Samuel was rescued alive, but his parents and grandmother did not survive.

"The protected him, and he remained alive," Brito said.

Faith, hope drive Venezuelan community's response

The day the earthquakes struck was a holiday in Venezuela, which may explain why many families were at home when the disaster occurred, while some children were visiting friends or relatives.

As rescue operations continue, many in South Florida remain glued to their phones, hoping for a call, a message or any sign that their loved ones are still alive.

For those still waiting, faith and hope remain their only certainty as the search for survivors continues.