The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned that severe shortages of safe drinking water, overcrowded temporary shelters, disrupted healthcare services and declining vaccination coverage are creating a growing risk of infectious disease outbreaks in areas devastated by Venezuela’s recent earthquakes.
Speaking on Thursday, PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa said the greatest threats in the coming weeks would be limited access to clean water, weakened health services, reduced immunization coverage and overcrowding in emergency shelters—conditions that could accelerate the spread of respiratory, gastrointestinal and other communicable diseases.
The United Nations said it has deployed specialist teams to provide mental health and psychosocial support, particularly for women and children affected by the disaster. PAHO, working with Venezuela’s Ministry of Health, has also expanded disease surveillance and emergency healthcare services across the affected regions.
Ciro Ugarte, PAHO’s Director of Health Emergencies, said Venezuela’s healthcare system had already been severely weakened by years of economic crisis, while the migration of medical professionals had further reduced the country’s ability to respond effectively. He noted that hospitals not originally designed for emergency trauma care had been adapted to treat earthquake victims.
According to Ugarte, international assistance, the deployment of medical personnel from other regions and the establishment of field hospitals have helped improve emergency healthcare delivery in the disaster zone.
Armando de Negri, PAHO’s representative in Venezuela, said 300 victims in La Guaira State—the area hardest hit by the earthquakes—had been buried without formal identification. However, authorities collected and preserved personal information and DNA samples to enable possible future identification.
Venezuelan authorities say the earthquakes that struck on June 24 have killed 3,889 people, injured more than 16,740 and displaced nearly 17,900 others. Most survivors are being sheltered in more than 80 temporary camps across La Guaira State and parts of Caracas.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes rank among Venezuela’s deadliest natural disasters in recent decades, destroying or damaging thousands of homes, hospitals, schools, roads and public facilities.
The United Nations has appealed for $300 million in emergency funding to support relief efforts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has warned that the final death toll could exceed 10,000, which would place the disaster among the deadliest earthquakes in Latin America over the past century.
