STORY: Residents of a northern Venezuelan town said on Friday (June 27) they felt happy they were alive after strong rains caused severe flooding from the overflowing Chama River that devastated part of the region this week, leaving some 270 families affected.

Heavy machinery was used to remove the devastation left by the river water, which buried trucks and caused parts of houses and pavements to collapse, as residents rushed to save their belongings. Other states in the Andean zone affected by rains caused by the passage of tropical waves include Tachira, Barinas and Trujillo.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: APARTADEROS, MERIDA, VENEZUELA (JUNE 27, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. (MUTE) DRONE VIEW OF SWOLLEN RIVER AND ALLUVIUM DEPOSITS ON LEFT SIDE

2. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF HEAVY MACHINERY, RESIDENTS WORKING TO REMOVE ALLUVIUM

3. TRUCK BURIED UNDER ALLUVIUM

4. CHILDREN ON STONES AND GRAVEL LEFT BY SWOLLEN RIVER

5. RESIDENTS CROSSING BRIDGE

6. PERSON MOVING MATTRESS

7. VARIOUS OF PERSON SITTING ON STONES WATCHING LANDSCAPE

8. VARIOUS OF HOUSE SURROUNDED BY ALLUVIUM

9. DEBRIS INSIDE HOUSE

10. RIVER WATER RUNNING SEEN THROUGH WINDOW

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, MARIANO DUGARTE, SAYING:

“When I arrived at home, water was coming in through the door, everywhere. I took clothes out, with my wife, but we couldn’t as water was flowing down. I said: let’s go or the water will take us. We went out and we couldn’t take anything, anything. (REPORTER ASKS: YOU LOST EVERYTHING) Everything. We saved our lives thank God.”

12. MUDDY WATER RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN

13. HEAVY MACHINERY REMOVING GRAVEL

14. RESIDENT MOVING MATTRESS

15. VARIOUS OF PERSON LISTENING TO HER PHONE MESSAGE, SEEN THROUGH FENCE

16. RESIDENTS NEXT TO HOUSE WITH WALLS COLLAPSED

17. VARIOUS OF FURNITURE REMAINING IN HOUSE AFTER FLOOD

18. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, MARIA ANGELICA ALVARADO, SAYING:

“We saw it some 28 or 30 years ago but not as strong as now. What we did was leave the house to save our lives and, honestly, I prayed, because now more than ever I have faith in God. Despite all the evidence, he doesn’t abandon us. I feel accompanied by him, he gives us evidence: my family is complete, my daughter is with me, my husband is with me, my sister, my nephew, my neighbours, all of them are well, even the animals are well.”

19. MUDDY WATER RUNNING OVER GRAVEL, STONES

20. RESIDENTS ON BRIDGE

21. TV SET ON MUD

22. BAG ON MUD

23. PAVEMENT THAT COLLAPSED DUE TO RIVER OVERFLOW

24. (MUTE) DRONE VIEW OF ALLUVIUM LEFT BY RIVER

25. (MUTE) HEAVY MACHINERY, RESIDENTS ON SIDES OF RIVER REMOVING GRAVEL

26. (MUTE) RIVER THAT OVERFLOWED RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN