Venezuela quake: ‘People still terrified to re-enter what were their homes’

Aid agencies on Friday highlighted massive needs across Venezuela caused by a double earthquake disaster that has killed at least 235 people so far, with search and rescue for people trapped under the rubble still the top priority.

In all, up to 6.8 million people could be impacted by Wednesday’s emergency, based on the latest available population and damage projections, according to the UN agency for migration, IOM.

More than 41,000 people have also been reported missing through an online portal.

And amid reports that rescuers are digging with their bare hands in some quake-hit centres, people “are still terrified to re-enter what were their homes or other structures” and need help, reported UN-partner the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, mostly affected the Caracas capital district and the states of Miranda, Carabobo, Yaracuy and La Guaira.

“People left everything and nothing is functioning as it should or as it has in these areas. And so, just ensuring that people can literally survive with those essentials is our priority on the ground,” IFRC spokesperson Loyce Pace, Regional Director for the Americas, told journalists in Geneva, via video from Panama City.

Many medical needs are critical. “The overriding priority is to urgently provide lifesaving health care and rescue as many people as possible, because the first hours, as you know, are critical to saving lives,” said Dr Ciro Ugarte, Health Emergencies Director for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Regional Office for the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Ugarte described medical teams under pressure to triage mass casualties and provide trauma care for broken bones, burns and other injuries associated with buildings collapsing, particularly in areas where search and rescue operations are ongoing.

The senior medic noted in addition that access remains “very difficult” for all teams working on the ground and particularly those in the health sector, making it difficult to make a thorough assessment of the situation. "We have been struggling to reach all those health facilities," he explained.

In addition to emergency medical care, people “who have lost everything” need temporary shelter, safe water, sanitation, healthcare, protection and essential relief items, said Zoe Brennan from the UN migration agency, IOM. Later, the recovery will need to be sustained “to help families rebuild their homes, restore livelihoods and recover with dignity”, she insisted.

Aid agencies highlighted how the earthquakes hit an already vulnerable country; millions of nationals live abroad after escaping a longstanding economic crisis and human rights violations that have been the subject of an ongoing Human Rights Council investigation.

Confirming an internet blackout in Venezuela, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said that “pre-existing restrictions” remained in place in the first few hours after the earthquakes.

“We call, as we've called before, to adopt measures to safeguard the digital space and guarantee the right to information and freedom of expression and access to digital media in Venezuela,” said OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado.

ends

Venezuela earthquake response: OCHA, IOM, PAHO, UNHCR, OHCHR, IFRC

TRT: 3 min 14s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 & 9:16 vertical broll
DATELINE: 26 JUNE 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & 25 JUNE 2026 LOS PALOS GRANDES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF CHACAO, CARACAS, VENEZUELA (please credit UNHCR)

Speakers:

• OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke
• IFRC spokesperson Loyce Pace, Regional Director for the Americas (from Panama City)
• Dr Ciro Ugarte, PAHO/WHO Health Emergencies Director (from Washington, DC)
• UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh
• IOM spokesperson Zoe Brennan
• OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior wide aerial view of UN Geneva.
2. Wide, Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) — OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke: “The entire humanitarian system is moving very fast and at scale, supporting the government-led response in Venezuela. Top priority: search and rescue.”
4. Wide, journalists, participants, remote speaker on TV screen.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – IFRC spokesperson Loyce Pace, Regional Director for the Americas: “After two nights, people are still terrified to re-enter what were their homes or other structures and still finding themselves displaced.”
6. Wide, Press room.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – IFRC spokesperson Loyce Pace, Regional Director for the Americas: “People left everything and nothing is functioning as it should or as it has in these areas. And so, just ensuring that people can literally survive with those essentials is our priority on the ground.”
8. Medium-wide, podium speakers listening with headsets.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh: “Tragically, authorities in La Guaira reported the collapse of a temporary accommodation centre hosting around 140 returnees who had recently arrived on a flight from the United States.”
10. Wide, podium speakers.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – IOM spokesperson Zoe Brennan: “On the basis of the best available population and damage projections, IOM estimates that up to 6.76 million people could be affected in Venezuela following these events.”
12. Wide, podium speakers, journalists, participants.
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – IOM spokesperson Zoe Brennan: “The immediate priorities are clear: emergency shelter, safe water, sanitation, health care, protection and essential relief items for those who have lost everything.”
14. Wide, Press room.
15. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr Ciro Ugarte, PAHO/WHO Health Emergencies Director (from Washington, DC): “The overriding priority is to urgently provide lifesaving health care and rescue as many people as possible, because the first hours, as you know, are critical to saving lives.”
16. Medium, journalist.
17. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr Ciro Ugarte, PAHO/WHO Health Emergencies Director (from Washington, DC): “The immediate health priorities include also mass casualty management, trauma care, particularly in the areas with collapsed buildings and ongoing search and rescue operations. Hospitals are managing injuries such as broken bones and health injuries, but also we are seeing burns and other injuries that result from building collapse.”
18. Wide, podium speakers.
19. SOUNDBITE (English) OHCHR spokesperson Marta Hurtado: “We have documented that, yes, pre-existing restrictions to the internet stay in place during the first few hours after the earthquake. Of course, we call, as we've called before, to adopt measures to safeguard the digital space and guarantee the right to information and freedom of expression and access to digital media in Venezuela.”
20. Wide, vertical, earth-moving equipment at work and emergency services in Los Palos Grandes in the Municipality of Chacao, Caracas. Please credit UNHCR.
21. Wide, vertical, earth-moving equipment at work and crowds in Los Palos Grandes in the Municipality of Chacao, Caracas. Please credit UNHCR.
22. Wide, vertical, public building showing earthquake damage in Los Palos Grandes in the Municipality of Chacao, Caracas. Please credit UNHCR.
23. Wide, vertical, apartment building showing earthquake damage in in Los Palos Grandes in the Municipality of Chacao, Caracas. Please credit UNHCR.
24. Wide, vertical, apartment building showing earthquake damage in Los Palos Grandes in the Municipality of Chacao, Caracas. Please credit UNHCR.