Venezuela Faces Critical Challenges After Twin Earthquakes

The response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela last week remains inadequate compared to the massive needs of those affected, as reported by a prominent humanitarian group. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlighted that the window for survival was closing rapidly for the tens of thousands who were still missing just two days after the crucial 72-hour period. After this time, the likelihood of finding more survivors decreases significantly.

“The scale of the response does not meet the scale of humanitarian need,” stated the IRC in a release on Tuesday. Authorities under acting President Delcy Rodriguez reported that at least 1,943 individuals had died, with thousands sustaining injuries. Moreover, around 16,000 people have been rendered homeless due to the disaster.

An opposition-supported website estimates that about 43,000 people are still missing. In La Guaira, where a temporary morgue has been set up at the principal port, Andrea Montilla shared a poignant moment sitting outside while family members identified the bodies of her cousin and grandmother.

Her 14-year-old cousin was found in the rubble of their apartment during the night, Montilla recounted. “It’s been so painful, a very long wait,” Montilla expressed, adding that the child’s mother remained missing. Many empty coffins were visible at the port, with bodies arranged in body bags nearby.

An official at this location, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that they, too, had lost family in the earthquakes. However, they did not have figures on the number of bodies already given to families or those still unclaimed.

Despite the grim circumstances, there was a glimmer of hope when Jordanian rescue workers saved a child early on Tuesday, marking the only known survivor on the sixth day of rescue efforts, as confirmed by Venezuelan authorities.

Rescue operations led by teams from Ecuador and the United States were halted early Tuesday at a site in Macuto. After more than 40 hours of endeavoring to free a mother and her three children trapped beneath a nine-story building, silence replaced their responses. “In the end, we believe the days have already passed and that what we will find now is death,” said Major Jorge Montanero, head of the EQ11 team from Ecuador. “Unfortunately, things haven’t developed favorably,” he remarked after cutting through several concrete slabs.

NASA estimates reveal that some 59,000 buildings sustained damage or were destroyed when the earthquakes struck almost simultaneously, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5. The destruction is so extensive that it is visible from space.

Not all sites have been attended by professional rescue teams, forcing locals to attempt to clear debris in hopes of finding survivors or retrieving bodies. Gianluca Rampolla, the United Nations’ resident coordinator in Venezuela, provided an estimate, stating, “We are procuring 10,000 body bags,” in collaboration with local authorities.

United Nations agencies have issued warnings about the deteriorating situation for survivors. The World Food Programme (WFP) calls for $50 million to deliver emergency food aid to up to 500,000 individuals over the next three months. With adequate funding, they can assist up to 1 million people. Presently, the WFP has distributed monthly food supplies to 1,200 people in La Guaira and established temporary feeding stations.

Additionally, the World Health Organization has cautioned about the strain on Venezuela’s healthcare system, noting severe damage to three health centers and impaired functionality at six others.