Venezuela quake deaths climb to 3,889 amid disease warnings

Venezuelan officials report that fatalities from the pair of earthquakes that struck last month now stand at 3,889, while health bodies across the region caution that disease threats are mounting.

On Thursday, legislator Jorge Rodrigues said injuries had reached at least 16,740 and that 17,907 people had been forced from their homes.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said those living in temporary conditions along Venezuela’s northern coast — the zone hardest hit by the shocks — face greater illness risk because clean water and steady medical services remain scarce.

“In the coming weeks, the greatest health risks may stem not only from injuries caused by the earthquakes, but also from disruptions to health services, overcrowded conditions, deficiencies in water and sanitation and reduced access to vaccination and routine healthcare,” said PAHO director Jarbas Barbosa.

PAHO is coordinating with Venezuela’s health ministry to expand vaccination coverage and to monitor for respiratory and gastrointestinal disease clusters, with particular attention to shelters housing people whose dwellings were destroyed.

The United Nations has sought about $300 million to support 1.3 million Venezuelans judged to need urgent assistance. PAHO called for the outstanding $15 million of requested emergency funds to be released without delay so damaged hospitals can be restored and basic sanitation kept functioning in displacement camps, aiming to avert a wider health crisis.