People line up Tuesday in La Guaira, Venezuela, to receive humanitarian aid after twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale struck June 24. Photo by Xaume Olleros/EPA
Two weeks after earthquakes devastated Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuela’s emergency entered a new phase that focuses on public health.
As rescue operations wind down, physicians and international organizations are focusing their efforts on preventing displacement of thousands of people, the partial collapse of the healthcare system and deficiencies in water and sanitation from triggering outbreaks of preventable diseases.
The World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization warned that current conditions favor the spread of infectious diseases, particularly in shelters housing thousands of displaced residents.
The main concern is Venezuela’s low vaccination rate. Combined with overcrowding and disruptions to health services, the situation increases the risk of outbreaks of diseases such as measles.
Ciro Ugarte, director of the Pan American Health Organization’s Department of Health Emergencies, said during a news conference that the risk of transmission has increased considerably because of the concentration of people in temporary camps and the difficulty of ensuring adequate hygiene conditions.
In response, the organization is evaluating targeted vaccination campaigns in the highest-risk areas.
The scale of the challenge is already reflected in the humanitarian situation.
More than 10,700 people remain housed in 79 temporary shelters after losing their homes or suffering severe damage during the June 24 double earthquake, according to reports by Infobae.
In La Guaira alone, the hardest-hit state, 6,655 people remain in 20 emergency shelters, while authorities expanded 11 of those facilities to accommodate growing demand.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also warned of increasing displacement of families to regions that were not directly affected by the earthquakes.
Concerns over low vaccination rates are compounded by another critical problem: access to safe drinking water.
WHO considers monitoring the quality of water distributed in shelters a priority, as water shortages and overcrowding increase the risk of gastrointestinal diseases and other communicable infections.
WHO also warned that ensuring access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation will be essential to reducing the risk of gastrointestinal diseases and other infections among displaced people.
Meanwhile, the healthcare system is facing mounting pressure.
The Pan American Health Organization reported that eight assessed hospitals require urgent assistance and that three have sustained significant structural damage.
Among the most critical cases, according to Consenso Salud, is Hospital José María Vargas, where 96 patients remain hospitalized in a ward originally designed for eight beds. The hospital also facing a severe shortage of blood.
Hospital Rafael Medina Jiménez, meanwhile, reduced its capacity to 35 beds from from 108 because of earthquake damage.
Infectious disease specialist Juan Ignacio Veller said the damage to hospitals, lack of access to safe drinking water and overcrowding in shelters have created conditions conducive to the emergence of communicable diseases.
Veller said these conditions increase the risk of outbreaks of cholera, hepatitis A, leptospirosis, COVID-19 and pneumonia, in addition to other infections associated with humanitarian disasters.
El doctor Juan Ignacio Veller, describe la crítica situación que afecta al sistema de salud y la infraestructura general de Venezuela. Especialmente la destrucción de hospitales, la falta de agua potable y el hacinamiento en refugios.
⚠️ Advierte que esta situación de… pic.twitter.com/UzATrjyeuF— DNewsOK (@DNewsOK) July 4, 2026
He aid the emergency also is creating mental health issues for the population, with rising cases of anxiety, depression and insomnia, and he recommended strengthening support networks and expanding access to psychological care.
Also, the Latin American Vaccinology Society called for vaccination to be incorporated into the immediate emergency response rather than waiting until the reconstruction phase.
In a statement released Tuesday, the organization said earthquakes do not cause epidemics by themselves, but they create conditions that allow preventable diseases to spread when population displacement, disruptions to health services, failures in water supply, loss of vaccination records and existing immunization gaps occur simultaneously.
The society recommended prioritizing tetanus shots for people with injuries, restoring interrupted vaccination schedules for children and adults, and reinforcing immunization for healthcare workers and rescue teams to keep essential services operational.
It also said that when a person’s vaccination history cannot be verified promptly, that individual should be considered susceptible and offered the appropriate vaccines according to age and risk level rather than waiting for vaccination cards or medical records to be recovered.
According to the latest official count, the earthquakes killed 3,685 people, injured 16,740 and left about 16,000 people without homes.
To respond to the new phase of the emergency, the Pan American Health Organization launched an international appeal for $23.9 million to fund six months of health and humanitarian assistance for about 700,000 affected people.
As the organization’s director, Jarbas Barbosa, said, the challenge is no longer limited to rescuing survivors and rebuilding cities, but also to preventing the disaster from evolving into a second public health emergency.
