Photographer on covering two deadly quakes: 'Rescue is the joy I seek'

For two decades, Fernando Vergara has documented the world for Varta Wire. But the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia presented a unique test — physically and emotionally.

Vergara moved through the aftermath in La Guaira, Venezuela, where tall apartment buildings collapsed and the death toll was high. He then covered the Aug. 10 earthquake in Pereira, Colombia, where shorter structures — one to three stories — suffered the most damage.

In La Guaira, he recalls streets filled with dust and the smell of decomposition, with rescue crews working in brutal heat. The contrast with Pereira was stark: fewer deaths, but still a scene of devastation.

For Vergara, the most powerful images are not of destruction but of survival. When rescuers pull someone alive from the rubble, he says, the joy is immense — and that is the moment he most hopes to capture.

He also reflects on the responsibility that comes with photographing people in their worst moments. "It's important not to disrespect the victims' families," he says. "It's about showing the situation with great sensitivity and conveying a message."

His work from both quakes offers a window into the human cost of disaster — and the resilience that follows.