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Islamic Relief is supporting people affected by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela with essential survival items.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck the north of the country within 40 seconds of each other on 24 June. The second quake was one of the strongest tremors to hit Venezuela in a century, at a magnitude of 7.5.
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Search and rescue efforts continue one week on from the disaster, with many people still unaccounted for.
Powerful aftershocks continue to rock the country, causing families already left homeless by the quakes to flee their shelters.
“The scale of the destruction is unimaginable,” says Omar Khalifa, part of Islamic Relief’s emergency response team in Venezuela.
“We just got back from one building that had completely collapsed and the ceiling had become the floor. We’re still getting tremors and aftershocks – yesterday some of the volunteers we’re working with had to evacuate their building because one of the aftershocks was so strong. Every aftershock causes people even more distress and trauma.”
Power, water, gas, and communications services have been disrupted across several areas. The La Guaira region in the north of Venezuela has been declared a ‘disaster zone’ due to the extent of the damage.
Shortly after the earthquakes struck, Venezuela’s government declared a state of emergency, which remains in place.
The earthquake comes amid a years-long economic crisis in Venezuela, which has seen rampant hyperinflation, the collapse of infrastructure and basic services, and millions of people leaving the country.
Islamic Relief is launching an emergency appeal to support those affected by the earthquake in Venezuela.
We will be working with partners and local authorities to deliver lifesaving aid. The full scale of the disaster is still emerging but based on Islamic Relief’s extensive global experience of responding to earthquakes we expect that people will urgently need shelter, food, water, healthcare and cash.