Venezuela Earthquake Survivor Shares How Families and Children Are Coping After the Disaster

Valentina, a Save the Children staff member in Venezuela, was in Caracas when two powerful earthquakes struck on June 24, 2026. In this firsthand account, she describes witnessing the devastation, supporting a family member who survived the disaster, and seeing the urgent needs of children and families in the days that followed. Only her first name is being used to help protect her identity.

Written by: Valentina, a Save the Children staff member in Venezuela,  June 27, 2026 | Media Contact: Claire Garmirian  +1 (203) 209-8545

Just last weekend I was celebrating Father’s Day with my dad, who raised me and has been a major source of support for the 30 years of my life. One week later, I am supporting him after he lost everything when his home collapsed in Wednesday’s deadly earthquakes but I am prouder than ever to be his daughter.

My dad was doing some DIY in his eighth-floor apartment in La Guaira state when the building started shaking furiously and then crumbling. He tried to steady himself but was terrified when, through the window, he saw the building opposite collapse in a heap. He knew he had to get out but by the time he reached the door, it was jammed shut. He tried to pry it open using whatever he could find and a neighbor coming down the stairs tried to help from the other side but my dad shouted to him to save himself. He’s always been selfless. After a while, he managed to bash down the door with a hammer and he went on to help neighbors who had the same problem.

By the time he got out, he saw neighbors lying on the ground with fractures because they had jumped out of their windows. Another woman staying in a nearby hotel had fallen with the entire wall as it collapsed. My dad used to be a firefighter in his youth so knows a thing or two about first aid. He tried to help her but her skull was fractured. He was devastated to watch her die right in front of him.

His building is completely destroyed. The walls are all hollowed out. He is lucky to be alive, and was lucky when, hours later, he returned through a small hole in a wall to grab the pills he needs for a medical condition along with his passport. He is lucky he has a car with only minimal damage that he could sleep in and then drive to my place in Caracas. He showed up with cuts, bruises and rashes all over his body, his clothes were torn and covered in dust and his shoes were in tatters, but he is alive.

That is what we keep reminding ourselves: how lucky we are, despite my dad losing everything. The death toll currently stands at more than 900 people, though with people still buried under rubble, estimates suggest the real toll will be much, much higher. At least 3,360 people have been injured, in a country with a healthcare system crippled by years of humanitarian crisis.

Over these first few days, the most important thing is search and rescue. Every hour that goes by could mean life or death for children. For people trapped under the rubble. Videos are circulating of children asking for their parents, but their parents are not there. They have died. Then you have parents seeking their children, feared buried beneath the debris of collapsed buildings. The true death toll is too painful to think about.

But the longer-term impacts will also be huge. Hundreds of buildings are damaged, and children and families are sleeping outside in the street. Clean water and electricity supplies are hugely disrupted. Schools across the country are closed.

At Save the Children, we know what we are doing. We have been working with local partners in Venezuela since 2018, and established our own office in 2019, making us one of the few international relief organizations with the capacity and knowledge to work in the country. We will focus on the most urgent needs, working to support families with healthcare, shelter, food, child protection services, and essential supplies as needed. We are aiming to reach 200,000 people, including 100,000 children with critical support. The speed of this support will be crucial to protecting children’s wellbeing in the days ahead.

We have released $1.5 million from our Children’s Emergency Fund to kickstart our response, and with further investment in the fund can do more to protect children caught up in emergencies like this latest earthquake in Venezuela.

The thought of my dad, doing what he can to help others, pushes me to do what I can for Venezuela’s children. I’m asking for support to help us to help each other. This is the time when the international community needs to show up for the children of Venezuela.