Venezuela hospitals overwhelmed as earthquakes trigger disease fears

Emergency departments in seven Venezuelan hospitals were already overflowing on June 30, when the Pan American Health Organization expanded health support across the country. PAHO deployed technical experts, coordinated international Emergency Medical Teams and sent emergency medical supplies as hospitals strained under the aftershock of two powerful earthquakes.

Its rapid assessments found crowded trauma units, shortages of trauma supplies, damaged infection-prevention systems and severe pressure on staff. Forensic and morgue services were overwhelmed, while gaps in casualty tracking were slowing referrals and making family reunification harder as the disaster zone widened.

The death toll climbed above 1,700 and injuries passed 5,000, WHO said. At least three health centres were critically damaged and six more were damaged or only partially functional, leaving already fragile facilities with less room to treat crush injuries, wounds and infections. WHO also warned that displaced residents faced higher risk of yellow fever and dengue because vaccination coverage was relatively low.

On June 25, the Venezuelan government said nearly 200 people were dead and 1,520 injured, with 250 buildings damaged or destroyed, mainly in La Guaira. Rescuers and families were still digging through rubble by hand while heavy machinery remained scarce. By June 28, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the situation had become a national emergency, with more than 512 aftershocks and 12,721 people displaced.

UNICEF said La Guaira was a disaster zone, with intensive search-and-rescue operations still under way. The most affected areas were the Capital District, Miranda, Carabobo and Yaracuy states, where damaged neighborhoods, temporary shelters and sanitation problems are feeding the risk of infection as crews continue to search for survivors.

Americares said the 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes were the strongest in more than a century to hit northcentral Venezuela and estimated nearly 7 million people could be affected. The country’s health system had already been weakened by a long humanitarian crisis marked by shortages of supplies and medical staff, power outages and rising vaccine-preventable and mosquito-borne illness.