Earthquakes Shock Venezuela

Venezuela was hit by two earthquakes on the evening of 24 June, a 7.2 followed by a 7.5 a few minutes later. It happened on Carabobo Day, a public holiday, while families across the country were at home or out celebrating.

The damage has been worst in Caracas. Buildings came down in Altamira and Los Palos Grandes, and part of the terminal roof at the main international airport gave way. Caritas Australia's emergency appeal is reporting more than 180 deaths and over 1,500 people injured, with hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged. Those numbers are from their page as it stands right now, and they will likely keep climbing.

For us here in Australia, the news came the way it always does: through a flood of WhatsApp messages and social media posts, in the middle of ordinary mornings, at work, making breakfast, getting kids ready for school. A lot of us have spent the days since trying to reach family and find out if they're okay. Some of us still don't know. Personally, I still have family I haven't been able to get hold of.

This isn't only about the earthquake. It's about what the earthquake landed on. Venezuela doesn't have the infrastructure or the resources to deal with something like this. The public health system has been collapsing for years. Hospitals are working with almost nothing. Ambulances and fire trucks are scarce or out of service. One of our community members heard from a friend in Caracas that there was barely any rescue equipment reaching them, so people were digging through rubble themselves and asking around for shovels. The earthquake didn't just bring buildings down; it showed once again how little is left to respond when something goes wrong.

There are also stories of people choosing to sleep outside rather than go back into their homes, afraid of what might still come down. Getting reliable information is hard, too. Independent media in Venezuela has faced years of restrictions, so most people, here and there, are relying on international news shared on social media and on grassroots organisations to find out what's actually happening.

Those grassroots organisations are doing this work, even as some have lost their own offices in the collapse. They're still showing up anyway.

We know this is landing hard on our own community here, too. For a lot of us, this isn't just grief about something happening far away; it's bringing up years, sometimes decades, of crisis we've carried from a distance, and that's real. If this is hitting you harder than expected, please reach out, to family, to friends, to a psychologist if that's what you need. You don't have to carry it alone.

We're asking two things.

First, if you’re able, give to organisations that are actually doing the work. Caritas Australia has an emergency appeal supporting Caritas Venezuela and local parishes already sheltering displaced families: caritas.org.au/donate/emergency-appeals/venezuela-earthquake. We've also started talking with Mates Without Borders, a charity based in Perth and founded by Venezuelans here in Australia, that funds NGOs directly in Venezuela: mateswithoutborders.org. We're still putting together a fuller list of verified ways to help and will share it as soon as it's ready.

Second, we're calling again for Venezuela to have an embassy in Australia. Right now, we don't have one, which means no consulate, no reliable channel for information, and no formal way for our community to coordinate support when something like this happens. It shouldn't take a disaster to make this case, but here we are again.