Samaritan’s Purse Working in Venezuela After Quakes
Our Disaster Assistance Response Team is on the ground and an Emergency Field Hospital has opened to help care for survivors of the earthquakes.
- Our Emergency Field Hospital has opened in the hard-hit city of La Guaira.
- Two airlifts from North Carolina to Venezuela carried nearly 200,000 pounds of relief materials.
- More than 1,700 people were killed and more than 5,000 were injured after the strongest quake to strike the nation in more than a century. More than 15,000 people are displaced and many thousands are still missing. Food shortages are widespread.
Samaritan's Purse is responding in Jesus' Name after Venezuela was hit by devastating earthquakes. On June 27 and 29, the ministry’s 767 cargo plane airlifted life-saving supplies, including an Emergency Field Hospital, to the Latin American nation. Our disaster response specialists are on the ground in Venezuela, with dozens more to follow in the coming days. Set up began on the hospital in hard-hit La Guaira on Sunday and it opened on Tuesday.
Back-to-back earthquakes rocked Venezuela within a minute of each other on June 24. Both tremors measured over 7.0 in magnitude; the second quake reached 7.5, making it the strongest to hit the country in over a century. Aftershocks continue, complicating search-and-rescue and relief efforts.
More than 1,700 people are confirmed dead and many thousands more are injured or missing. Hospitals in the hardest hit areas were strained before the quake, and now dozens are damaged and overwhelmed with people in desperate need of care. Our Emergency Field Hospital is capable of treating more than 100 people each day. It is equipped with two operating rooms, a critical care unit, pharmacy, and laboratory. Samaritan’s Purse has also airlifted emergency shelter material, solar lights, and blankets to provide relief to families who are suffering.
“This is going to be a long-term effort. I think we're only just beginning to understand the full extent of the destruction in Caracas and La Guaira. Multiple hospitals are damaged or overwhelmed, roads have been split wide open, and hundreds of buildings have collapsed. People are living on the streets—terrified of aftershocks. They need our prayers,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “It's heartbreaking to see the suffering and loss. We love the people of this country, and we want to do all that we can to help in Jesus' Name.”
Please continue to pray for residents of Venezuela, especially around La Guaira and Caracas. Pray for our response team and for their boldness while serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.
