06.24.2026

Earthquakes in Venezuela: How to Help

Project HOPE is in Venezuela responding to the deadly earthquakes that struck outside Caracas. Learn more about our response and how you can help.

Project HOPE and our long-standing partner, SAMU, are actively conducting K-9 search-and-rescue operations in Venezuela and Project HOPE-supported health workers in the affected area are working around the clock to treat patients and provide emergency and trauma care. In the most impacted areas, people are sleeping on the street, health facilities have lost power, and hundreds of buildings have collapsed. Project HOPE is providing urgently needed humanitarian support and mobilizing medical assistance following the powerful June 24 earthquakes and the 400+ aftershocks that have rocked Venezuela since. Read on to learn more about how you can help.

What you need to know in Venezuela

On the evening of June 24, 2026, two deadly back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck Venezuela near San Felipe, outside Caracas. The second earthquake was the biggest to hit Venezuela in over a century.

The death and injury tolls for these earthquakes is expected to climb as search-and-rescue operations continue, with more than 1,400 reported dead, thousands more injured, and tens of thousands likely missing. The extent of the damage is widespread, with collapsed buildings, disrupted communications, and significant impacts on critical infrastructure, including the airport, as aftershocks continue.

destruction from earthquakes in Venezuela — The 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck on June 24 is the strongest to hit Venezuela in over a century. Photo courtesy Reuters.

How is Project HOPE responding to the earthquakes in Venezuela?

With more than 100 local staff already in Venezuela, Project HOPE started responding just hours after the first earthquake and is mobilizing additional emergency response teams to meet the most urgent health and humanitarian needs. Clinics we support in the affected areas are providing lifesaving care to earthquake survivors. Within 48 hours, Project HOPE completed a rapid needs assessment across heavily impacted areas, identifying critical gaps in the local health system that our teams are working quickly to fill so that health workers and their communities have what they need. In addition, we have emergency medical personnel and a K-9 Search and Rescue teams actively searching for survivors.

Project HOPE is providing psychological first aid to patients and families at health centers in an effort to help stabilize people in acute distress, prevent panic attacks, and provide lifesaving mental health support.

In the coming days and weeks, our team will continue responding to the most urgent health and humanitarian needs. In the aftermath of disasters like these, we aim to address both urgent and long-term needs, stabilize local health systems, and ensure families have adequate access to primary healthcare; mental health and psychosocial support (including psychological first aid); shelter; and water, sanitation, and hygiene.

What are the greatest needs following the earthquakes Venezuela?

Prior to the Caracas earthquakes, nearly 8 million people in Venezuela — more than a quarter of the population — already needed humanitarian support. This disaster has compounded a complex humanitarian and economic crisis, making immediate support essential as families try to stabilize and meet their basic needs.

Beyond the immediate need to rescue survivors trapped under rubble, Project HOPE’s rapid needs assessment across health facilities in heavily impacted areas found that 64% of surveyed health facilities have been forced to suspend some services, with 36% dealing with out-of-service emergency areas and 29% reporting non-operational cold chain equipment, which affects access to essential lifesaving medicines, including insulin.

Local health workers report that 57% of facilities have lost power, the same amount have lost access to clean, running water, and all health facilities we surveyed report some degree of structural damage. Critically, 43% of facilities lack staff trained in psychological first aid and 71% of health centers surveyed are in need of medications like antibiotics, respiratory drugs, IV fluids, and more. Project HOPE’s priority in the coming days and weeks is saving as many lives as possible, supporting families displaced by the damage, and stabilizing the health system so people can continue to seek essential, lifesaving healthcare.

“The earthquakes that hit Venezuela last night in rapid succession are historic in magnitude and come at a time when the country is reeling from triple-digit inflation, an ongoing displacement crisis, and a collapsed healthcare system.”
– Chris Skopec, Project HOPE President

The airport outside Caracas has been heavily impacted, water infrastructure is damaged, power outages are affecting entire sections of cities, and phone lines have been downed, making it hard for people to contact loved ones.

Civilians report being terrified of the threat of future earthquakes, residents are sleeping on the streets, and the mental health toll is already setting in as survivors navigate the destruction.

clinic pop-up in Venezuela following two earthquakes — More than a quarter of Venezuela’s population needed humanitarian support before the June 24 earthquakes, making immediate support essential as health systems face a rise in need. Photo courtesy Reuters.

What is Project HOPE’s history in Venezuela?

Project HOPE has been providing critical health and humanitarian assistance inside Venezuela since 2019, reaching 1.2 million people and providing over 339,000 medical consultations in 2025 alone.

“It’s all pretty intense. Especially as humanitarian workers who witness crises in other places up close, I believe nothing prepares you to experience one in your own homeland. I’m fine and the team is fine. There is nothing left to do but move forward. It’s really tough. Everything here takes a thousand times more effort… I don’t know how we’re going to recover.”
– Project HOPE team member in Venezuela

For years, Project HOPE has expanded access to primary healthcare, medicines, and health education while supporting local health workers and health facilities across Venezuela. We have also increased access to mental health and psychosocial support, strengthened water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in health facilities to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and provided nutrition support for pregnant women, new mothers, and newborns.

How you can help Venezuela

The earthquakes in Venezuela have displaced many people and worsened a humanitarian catastrophe that impacts women, children, families, and entire communities made vulnerable by this crisis. If you want to help, here’s how you can get involved:

1. Make a lifesaving gift to support our work now and for the future.

2. Interested in an employee giving campaign for Venezuela? Please contact us — we are happy to help.

3. Stay up-to-date on this story and our lifesaving work around the world by following us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter, and help spread the word about our response.

4. Fundraise for Venezuela by streaming on Tiltify to raise money for Project HOPE. If you’re a content creator, you can start a charity stream on Tiltify to Stream for HOPE and raise funds for Project HOPE’s mission. Tag us on social @projectHOPEorg to let us know about your charity stream so we can thank you!

Volunteering: At this time, we are not seeking volunteers to deploy to our response in Venezuela. This is an ongoing response and needs may change. We encourage interested parties to submit an application with our volunteer emergency response database and we will reach out if your specialty is requested.