On Wednesday evening, an earthquake that struck Venezuela was registered with a magnitude of 7.2, with a second quake of 7.5 magnitude striking less than a minute later.
According to local authorities, there are already over 164 confirmed dead and over 970 injured. MSF teams in Caracas are assessing the situation to see if and in what way we can support the response. We will donate trauma emergency kits to hospitals in Caracas.”
Our team from Caracas managed to go to and assess the situation in La Guaira, one of the most hit cities from the earthquake. MSF delivered successfully an initial donation of emergency trauma kits (covering approximately 200 patients) to José María Vargas Hospital in La Guaira. In the coming 24-48h, we expect to continue donating trauma kits while scaling up resources, coordinating with partners while simultaneously refining a more comprehensive operational response.
Today the official death toll has risen to 235, with 4,000 injured, over 200 people still trapped, 157 missing, and 2,927 affected families. Numbers expected to grow in the coming days. Infrastructure damage remains extensive, with 250 damaged buildings, 8 hospitals, 20 shopping centres, and 68 public facilities affected, particularly in Caraballeda and Playa Grande (La Guaira).
