Displaced Venezuelans sleep in tents after deadly twin earthquakes
Tens of thousands fled collapsed or damaged homes after the June 24 quakes, and many now sleep in tents, plazas and cars as aftershocks and shortages deepen the crisis.
Tents, sidewalks and parked cars became shelter for displaced Venezuelans after twin earthquakes ripped through homes and public services, leaving many families with nowhere safe to return. In Caracas and nearby La Guaira, residents slept in plazas, by highways and inside temporary camps because damaged buildings remained unsafe and aftershocks kept coming.
The quakes struck within about a minute of each other on June 24, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, with the stronger temblor the most powerful to hit Venezuela in 125 years. The epicenter was roughly 100 miles west of Caracas, near Morón and the Yumare area on the central Caribbean coast, and the damage spread far beyond the hardest-hit neighborhoods. By June 30, the Venezuelan government reported 1,943 confirmed deaths and at least 10,571 injuries, while NASA satellite analysis estimated nearly 60,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Families have been packed into basketball courts, stadiums, a baseball field and at least four emergency shelters opened by Caracas officials, while others stayed in their cars or on sidewalks because they feared the next aftershock. Delcy Rodríguez declared a national disaster the night the quakes struck and said the government would provide temporary shelters and hotel rooms for people whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.
In La Guaira, hospitals, electricity, water, telecommunications, transport and Maiquetía International Airport were all severely disrupted, making it harder to move patients, deliver supplies and restore routine services. United Nations agencies estimated nearly 7 million Venezuelans could be affected, and emergency teams from around the world joined search and rescue operations as the toll and the list of missing grew.
Some children were living on the streets or in informal tented camps, with fear, stress and overwhelming sadness spreading through families separated by the quake. Save the Children was providing mobile clinics, hygiene kits, clean water, mental health support, safe spaces, nutrition screening, child protection services and family tracing.
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