Source: Save the Children
Families in earthquake-devastated Venezuela spent a second night sheltering in open spaces amid fears of further building collapses and raising serious concerns over children’s safety and their immediate needs, Save the Children said.
Venezuela has declared a national emergency following two consecutive 7.5 and 7.2 magnitude earthquakes in the north-central region of the country, putting thousands of children and families at risk. [1]
At least 255 people have been killed and 4,500 injured as of 25 June, according to the country’s health ministry, although these numbers are likely to rise.
Save the Children’s teams and local partners on the ground have reported child deaths and injuries and children have been confirmed separated from their families during evacuations in the capital Caracas and La Guaira – a major port city.
Fatima Andraca, Save the Children’s Country Director in Venezuela, fled her old, 12-storey building barefoot through an outside staircase when the interior stairs of the building were too damaged to use.
Fatima said:
“There is devastation and destruction everywhere you look and many children and families, including here in Caracas, have been forced to spend another night sheltering in open spaces.
“Families are clutching what few belongings they managed to save, children are in the open streets too scared to return to their destroyed homes which are unsafe. The safety of children is a serious concern and our top priority.
“In the days and weeks ahead, children will need protection, psychosocial support, safe water and safe spaces as communities recover from this cataclysmic event.”
Save the Children and its partners have teams on the ground in affected areas who will be responding to children and families impacted, providing child protection, shelter, health services, food and emergency relief items.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Save the Children has launched an emergency appeal to support the response in Venezuela.
Save the Children New Zealand CEO Heather Campbell said as New Zealanders, we understand all too well the devastation earthquakes can bring to families and communities.
“That’s why we have launched this emergency appeal – to urgently support children and families in Venezuela. Children are always the most vulnerable in disasters like this, and they need immediate protection, care, and support. We are calling on New Zealanders to stand with us and act now to help deliver life-saving assistance where it’s needed most.”
Save the Children has been working in Venezuela since 2019. Since the humanitarian crisis started to rapidly deteriorate a few years ago, Save the Children has been scaling up its response through local partners to support the increasing number of children in need. Save the Children is delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene and food security and livelihoods support.
VLOGS: Save the Children staff Fátima Andraca and Laura Ciudad give first-hand accounts of the destruction caused by the earthquakes in Venezuela:
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