Rescuers are racing to free people trapped in rubble as children have been forced from their homes
On the evening of 24th June, two powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck central Venezuela, causing widespread damage across multiple states, including in the country’s capital Caracas.
More than 3,300 people have reportedly died, over 16,950 have been injured, over 16,3000 people have lost their homes, and at least 68,000 people have been reported missing by their families. Up to 6.8 million people have been affected by the earthquakes with an estimated that 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, in need of humanitarian assistance.
Buildings and infrastructure have been severely damaged, with transport systems and the international airport disrupted. At least 1,000 buildings have been reported damaged or destroyed, including hospitals, and many people are feared to still be trapped under the rubble. Power and communications outages in some areas mean that the full extent of the damage is yet to be seen.
The earthquake comes as families in Venezuela have been facing a prolonged crisis since 2014. Economic collapse, political instability, hyperinflation, and international sanctions, alongside recurring climate-related shocks, have rendered millions unable to meet basic survival needs. An estimated 5 million children were already in need of urgent support before the earthquake.
Save the Children is responding and working urgently with teams and partners to assess needs and support affected children and families.
Time is critical. Your support can help Save the Children respond quickly and reach children and families affected by this devastating earthquake with lifesaving assistance when they need it most.
Save the Children staff meet people displaced during the earthquake in La Guaira State. Save the Children is responding and working urgently with teams and partners to assess needs and support affected children and families. Edwin Corona Ramos / Save the Children
Fear, stress, and overwhelming sadness are everywhere. Families come to me to share their stories with tears in their eyes. Some are still frantically searching for relatives or friends. For children, the loss of everything familiar and comforting are immeasurable.
Country Director in Venezuela, Fatima Andraca
A girl stands in between tents with earthquake damaged buildings in the background. Edwin Corona Ramos / Save the Children
Our Response
Save the Children began responding within 24 hours of the earthquakes, releasing $1.5 million from the Children’s Emergency Fund to kick-start our response and lifesaving activities - but given the scale of this disaster, we urgently need more support.
Our teams are working with local partners in affected areas, with the initial response focused on La Guaira, Catia La Mar and the worst-affected parts of Caracas. We aim to reach 350,000 people, including 200,000 children.
Our response focuses on the most urgent needs:
- Child protection services such as setting up Child Friendly Spaces and child protection activities.
- Psychological first aid and mental health and psychosocial support.
- Safe Spaces providing integrated services, including protection, education, nutrition, health, WASH, and mental health support.
- Essential maternal and child health services, including screening for malnutrition.
- Access to safe drinking water and the prevention of water-borne diseases which includes providing hydration points, safe water-storage solutions, hygiene and cleaning kits, menstrual hygiene supplies.
- Food assistance, such as emergency food assistance and essential relief items including ready-to-eat food packages.
- Education, including assessing education needs and damaged schools, providing teaching and learning materials, establishing temporary learning spaces.
The response will prioritise children facing the greatest risks following the earthquakes, including children living in overcrowded shelters or public spaces, children with disabilities, and families who have lost access to healthcare, safe water, food and education.
Save the Children has been working with local partners in Venezuela since 2018, and established our own office in 2019, making us one of the few international relief actors with the capacity and permission to work in the country. We have 83 staff in country and work with 6 local partners – Funvape Fundana, Construyendo Futuros, Fe y Alegría, Superatec, PALUZ and CODEHCIU.
We are also engaging with the UN, other NGOs, national authorities and local organisations, and actively participating in coordination mechanisms to assess needs, align the response, avoid duplication and ensure assistance reaches the worst-affected communities as quickly as possible.
Give now to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund to help deliver urgent, life‑saving support to children affected by the Venezuela earthquake.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DONATE TO THE CHILDREN’S EMERGENCY FUND?
Our Children's Emergency Fund is a central pot of funding for emergencies. It gives us the flexibility to respond quickly and wherever the need is greatest. It means we have funds ready for when a disaster strikes, so we don’t have to wait to reach children in crises.
With every year that goes by, crises become more frequent, last longer and affect more people. There are now twice as many natural disasters as there were 20 years ago.
The needs are huge, but so is our determination to reach every last child in crisis. By giving to Save the Children’s Child Emergency Fund, you can help protect a children caught up in emergencies like this latest earthquake in Venezuela, helping to protect a child’s life and future.
Please give to our Child Emergency Fund today. Your donation will allow our response teams to protect children better, faster and for longer.
