Venezuela earthquakes: Aid groups warn fragile healthcare system is under severe strain

Aid agencies said Venezuela’s weak healthcare system was close to breaking point on Tuesday. Two strong earthquakes hit nearly a week earlier. Hospitals were damaged and short of staff. Many facilities were struggling with injured patients and worsening conditions. Groups also warned that infectious diseases were starting to spread in affected areas.

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Search teams from Venezuela and abroad were still looking for survivors in damaged zones. The government death toll had crossed 1,700. Bodies were still being recovered from collapsed buildings. At the same time, agencies said a separate emergency was growing among people who survived but lost homes and basic services.

Venezuela earthquakes: death toll, missing people and damaged buildings

Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the National Assembly, gave updated figures on Monday. Rodríguez said 1,719 people were killed and 5,000 were injured. Rodríguez also warned people not to share figures that differed from official statements. Experts said the real toll may be higher, as many people remained missing.

Authorities had not released an official number for missing people. Many families used independent online databases to report relatives who could not be reached. One registry listed at least 43,220 people as missing. NASA estimated that nearly 59,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, suggesting far wider impact than official totals.

Venezuela earthquakes: displaced people and food shortages

United Nations agencies raised concerns about the health risks for displaced communities. Many people had spent days sleeping outdoors or in crowded shelters. Venezuelan officials said more than 15,800 people were affected by the earthquakes. UN refugee agency spokesperson Carlotta Wolf said this number matched the official displaced count.

Wolf said many newly homeless people were sleeping in cars and parks. Wolf added that emergency shelter was not available for many families. Wolf also said the displaced total was expected to rise. In La Guaira, one of the worst-hit states, Wolf said many displaced residents faced widespread food shortages.

Venezuela earthquakes: disease risk and low vaccination rates

World Health Organisation spokesperson Christian Lindmeier warned about disease risks on Tuesday in Geneva. Lindmeier said many displaced people lacked toilets, showers and soap. Lindmeier also cited limited access to nourishing food. Lindmeier said low vaccination rates increased vulnerability to preventable outbreaks, including measles.

Lindmeier said conditions also supported the spread of waterborne and mosquito-borne illnesses. The risks included dengue, yellow fever and malaria. Agencies linked these threats to poor sanitation and crowded living areas. They also noted that health services were stretched, making fast detection and treatment harder.

Venezuela earthquakes: hospitals damaged and staff shortages

Lindmeier said the healthcare system had been weakened by underinvestment and years of economic crisis. Lindmeier said facilities were operating beyond capacity due to trauma cases. The government said 38 hospitals were damaged or otherwise compromised nationwide. WHO had assessed 21 facilities, and three were no longer operating.

WHO said another six assessed hospitals had sustained damage. WHO said other facilities were strained by the large number of injuries. WHO also reported that specialist doctors were missing in the ruins. The agency said officials responsible for maternity care in La Guaira were among those missing.

Lindmeier said the situation was made worse by long-term migration. Lindmeier linked staffing pressure to a wider exodus from the country. About 8 million people had fled in recent years, including many doctors and nurses. Aid groups said this reduced the ability of hospitals to manage mass casualties.

"Findings reveal chaotic service delivery and patient flow, marked by overcrowding, growing surgical backlogs... and a breakdown in biosafety measures,\" Lindmeier said.

Lindmeier said service failures also affected death registration and assessment. Lindmeier said the collapse of forensic and morgue services created delays. Lindmeier also said poor casualty registration made the disaster’s scale harder to measure. Even with daily government updates, aid agencies said needs were rising in shelters and hospitals.

UNICEF said on Tuesday that 680,000 children needed humanitarian assistance nationwide. Aid agencies said disease risks and food shortages were key concerns in the coming days. With thousands displaced and many buildings damaged, responders said healthcare gaps could widen. Search efforts continued as families also tried to trace missing relatives.

With inputs from PTI