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Two catastrophic earthquakes have hit Venezuela. Now the survivors urgently need support.
A prayer for all those affected by the powerful earthquakes that hit Venezuela on 24 June.
Two catastrophic earthquakes have hit Venezuela. Now the survivors urgently need support.
A prayer for all those affected by the powerful earthquakes that hit Venezuela on 24 June.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) outlined the full extent of damage and destruction and the need for urgent shelter, medical supplies and psychological support as it launched its Venezuela Earthquake Appeal at a London press conference.
A week after the earthquake hit, the event heard that the quakes have left 1,900 people dead, and 10,500 injured and in need of medical care. 50,000 people are estimated missing and 12,000 have been displaced from their homes, with an estimated 96,000 buildings damaged or destroyed.
Families with children are sleeping in the street, covered with plastic sheets or bedsheets as makeshift tents even though tropical rains are approaching. Others are sheltering in football stadia and temporary camps.
Search and recovery teams are still attempting to rescue survivors and DEC member agencies are providing equipment and psychological support for these workers.
The DEC said the challenges were the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ with numbers increasing every day and needs intensifying. Aid agencies fear cholera infections due to lack of clean water, worsened by potential flooding and overcrowded conditions.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Lead Bishop for Solidarity with the Church Abroad said:
“I express my deepest solidarity with and prayerful support for all those men, women and children affected by the two devastating earthquakes.
“The Catholic Church in England and Wales stands alongside our brothers and sisters in Venezuela at this time of immeasurable suffering. We also remember those within our own communities who have family and friends affected by this disaster and who will be deeply concerned for their loved ones.
“I echo the words of Archbishop Raúl Biord Castillo of Caracas that the people of Venezuela might find ‘comfort in God and in solidarity and charity’”.
Hannah Richards, DEC Director of Communications said:
“The full impact of this earthquake is still yet to be seen but what we do know is that hundreds of thousands of people in Venezuela desperately need our help right now.
“The immediate focus is to provide food and drinking water - which is critically short. But also, temporary shelter to people who have lost their homes, and water sanitation to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, and medical assistance.
“Our priority is to help save and protect lives but also psychological support for people caught up in this disaster and who have experienced aftershocks.
“The more money we raise, the more people we can reach. Any amount you can give will make a huge difference.”
Venezuela was facing a severe economic crisis before the earthquakes, and the scale of the destruction so catastrophic that the authorities have declared a National State of Emergency.
Buildings were reduced to rubble in minutes following two back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 which struck close to Venezuela’s capital city, Caracas just after 6pm local time on Wednesday 24 June. Five hundred aftershocks have been measured since 24 June, including a magnitude 5.2 aftershock Monday morning.
The second earthquake was the strongest to hit the country in more than a century. Around 96,000 buildings are believed to have been destroyed. The UN estimates that millions of people have been affected, with more than two million in the worst impacted areas.
With road, power lines and critical infrastructure destroyed, families are cut off from essential services and supplies. The country’s hospitals are under extreme pressure treating those in need of medical care.
About the DEC: The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response.
The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.
Fourteen of the DEC’s 15 member charities are either responding or planning to respond in Venezuela and will receive funds from this appeal.