Emergency response to support victims of deadly earthquakes in Venezuela
- World Vision will distribute food, water and hygiene kits in communities devastated by the two powerful earthquakes.
- Concern is mounting for children left homeless and traumatised.
The two quakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude have been followed by hundreds of aftershocks which have left more than 1,400 people dead, 3,000 injured, thousands homeless and many more afraid.
World Vision’s Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Advisor Jankiel Rosenwald says children and families are in distress.
"It is a chaotic scene. Families are dealing with fear of recurrent aftershocks and trauma, while trying to find and contact their relatives. Vast areas are without power, water and internet and phone connectivity.
“People is still trying to understand what just happened and when speaking to people in the streets, you can sense general feeling of sadness and despair especially with the diminishing possibility of survival for those trapped under the debris," he says.
World Vision is conducting rapid damage and needs assessments to determine the most urgent humanitarian priorities.
Regional Leader for World Vision Latin America and the Caribbean, Joao Diniz, says the disaster has struck a country already burdened by a protracted economic, social and political crisis. "Humanitarian assistance is urgently needed in a country that was already facing a critical situation before this disaster made it even worse. World Vision will focus on supporting affected families through food assistance, hygiene and sanitation kits, menstrual dignity kits, and portable sanitation facilities in the hardest-hit communities.
“However, meeting the enormous humanitarian needs will require the generosity of the international community and sustained donor support," he says.
Thousands of children and adolescents in the affected areas now face heightened risks of family separation, psychological distress, and exposure to unsafe structures as evacuations continue and aftershocks persist.
World Vision is concerned for children and will set up community-based child protection activities and step up its work to safeguard children.
The organisation is calling on the international community, donors, and humanitarian partners to provide immediate financial support to help upscale the response in Venezuela to ensure that children and their families receive the life-saving assistance they urgently need.
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