Two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela on 24 June.
It was reported in late June that there had been two major earthquakes in Venezuela in South America. At least seven states of the country were reported by the BBC to have been affected, with collapsed buildings and police and rescue teams working in the capital city of Caracas to try and rescue people from the rubble.
Police and rescue teams were reported as striving to remove the rubble looking for survivors. One reported spoke of how at least for a family of four members, a mother and her three daughters had been trapped in one building,
That building was just one among the buildings that collapsed not only in that neighbourhood, here but in other parts of the city. There was also a lot of damage to the infrastructure. Heavy machinery and dogs were used in the rescue attempts.
As the heartrending rescue work went on, it was reported three days later on the 27 June, that more than 900 people were known to have died in the two huge earthquakes. Rescuers continued to search for the survivors while families waited desperately for news.
As rescue operations have continued, it was then sadly reported on 30 June that the number of deaths had surpassed 1,700, with thousands more was still reported to be missing. It was also noted that the two powerful earthquakes which came one straight after the other, had raised entire neighbourhoods in the coastal state of La Guaria to the ground.
Heartbreaking stories
Among the numbers of casualties of the two earthquakes there were many heartbreaking stories. One of these was said to involve the wife of footballer Hector Bello. He wrote on Instagram that his wife Andrea, who he described as his “precious love” had died while saving the life of their toddler during the two earthquakes.
Bello wrote in the post: “I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love, how you gave your own life for our daughter, how you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths”.
Aid workers in Venezuela
As the scale of the disaster in Venezuela has become clear, so many aid workers have gone there to try and help. As often happens after an earthquake there are secondary problems and it was reported on 30 June that aid groups were warning healthcare systems in Venezuela were becoming overwhelmed. Understaffed and damaged hospitals we’re being pushed to the limit by the scale of the injured, while infectious diseases spread rapidly in the disaster zone.
On a very sad note, it has also been reported that the UN is sending as many as 10,000 body bags to Venezuela as the death tolls is still expected to rise.
How to help the people of Venezuala
Readers can support the UN Refugee Agency’s work here .
Readers can also donate directly to the emergency response here.
