Source: UN News: Saturday, July 25, 2026 00:00 AM
A 12-storey residential building collapsed in La Guaira, Venezuela, after two powerful earthquakes struck late last month. After this, there was chaos to save the injured and people trapped under the debris. On June 24, two devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 occurred in the central-northern region of Venezuela. Survivor Roberto Rodriguez, 24, said, “I saw the building falling down one by one. I could hear people screaming and calling for help.” He had returned home a few minutes earlier and had not yet reached his apartment. “Bricks and pieces of debris started falling on me,” he said. “I ran and saw other people and shouted, ‘Run, run!’ At that very moment, the entire building collapsed.” Trapped under the debris, Roberto Rodriguez said, “My companion was trapped under the debris. His feet were buried and neighbors immediately started helping him out. It took us about two hours to free them.” 20-year-old Diarra Morales was rescued from the debris and treated for her injuries. But Roberto Rodriguez’s father and younger sister died in this disaster. Nearly 5,000 people have died and more than 16,000 have been injured in earthquakes. Thousands of people are still missing, while an estimated 18,000 have been left homeless. Temporary shelters have been set up for displaced people. Hope amid turmoilRoberto Rodriguez and Diarra Morales are currently living in a temporary shelter set up at the Jose Maria Vargas sports complex, where more than 1,000 other displaced people have also taken shelter. The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA After receiving medical care and health and hygiene supplies from the U.S., Diara Morales also got some good news. “On July 2, my father’s birthday, during my partner’s medical checkup, we learned that she was pregnant,” said Roberto Rodriguez. “The baby remained unharmed despite falling from the sixth floor of a 12-story building and being buried under heavy debris from the waist down,” he said. I consider it a miracle.” © UNFPA/Walter Sotomayor UNFPA is providing critical sexual and reproductive health services in three shelters in Caracas, La Guerra and Miranda. Communities supported are now receiving antenatal care from a UNFPA-supported clinic in the Diarra Morales shelter. In coordination with the administration, UNFPA is providing sexual and reproductive health services in three shelters in Caracas, La Guaira and Miranda. These include prenatal counseling, distribution of contraceptives, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and referrals to hospitals for obstetric emergencies. 40-year-old volunteer Yoseis Escalona is also contributing to these efforts. She, too, is living with her husband and son in a shelter located at the Jose Maria Vargas Sports Complex. “In the tent where I am staying, there are 12 families living together,” she said. “This number varies from tent to tent. Some have 15, some 20, and some have as many as 25 families.” Helping each other Jose Escalona described her group as “a family,” where women help people reconnect with themselves. “We are always looking for ways to help and support each other,” she said. “Despite the deep grief of losing a home or a family member, so many women are courageously moving forward.” Like most earthquake survivors, more than two weeks later, Yoseis Escalona has still not been able to return to her home. More than 20 thousand people have taken refuge in more than 100 temporary shelters, where overcrowding, lack of essential services, family separation and increasing psychosocial stress are exacerbating protection risks. © UNFPA/Walter Sotomayor Jose Maria Vargas shelters in a makeshift camp at the sports complex after losing his home in La Guaira, Venezuela. Efforts to combat gender-based violenceAs a representative of her tent, Yoseis Escalona is now also contributing to raising awareness about gender-based violence. Information sessions provided by UNFPA and its partners have provided her with information about the services available to victims of violence. These include treatment, psychosocial support, case management and legal advice. They have also been given information on how to get people in need access to these services. Eugenia Sackler, Head of UNFPA Office in Venezuela, said that in this disaster, as in other humanitarian crises, it is vital to strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence and ensure safe access to victim-centred services. “We are distributing essential supplies to health care providers for the medical treatment of rape victims,” she said. “And also to shelters. The situation is being assessed and we are working with the government and partners to strengthen the recovery measures. Oryose Escalona fears that this crisis will have long-lasting effects. “There are mothers here who have lost everything, and when I say everything, I mean literally everything – their homes, their children and their husbands,” she said. “They are left alone. Now they have no home, no belongings, but they are alive.” UNFPA has appealed for 10 million dollars to continue its efforts in the first three months of emergency response. As well as ensuring vital health services and protection from gender-based violence, essential reproductive health supplies and medical equipment are also being shipped to affected communities. More information about UNFPA’s emergency action plan Here is available.