More than 5,000 people are dead and nearly 18,000 are homeless in Venezuela, over a month after devastating earthquakes struck the northern coast. The disaster, which caused an estimated $19.6 billion in direct physical damage, has exposed the working class to a deepening crisis of disease and environmental contamination, exacerbated by systemic underinvestment and official inaction.
Mary Cruz Andueza, 35, is among those still searching for loved ones. The government housing tower where her mother lived, launched under late President Hugo Chávez, collapsed. “I don’t know if she’s alive, if she’s dead, if she’s in a hospital or still beneath the rubble,” Andueza said, detailing how she became seriously ill from the dust. She reported suffering coughs, allergies, fever, and headaches from working daily near the collapsed buildings.
Carolina de Jesús, Venezuela project director for Project HOPE, has spent nearly every day in the region since the quakes. She noted, “The smell of corpses is very strong” in some neighborhoods, describing a pervasive sense of “hope, but also enormous pressure over what will happen tomorrow.”
Who Bears the Cost
Managing an estimated 1.2 million tons of debris presents a major environmental challenge. Much of this rubble could be contaminated with fuels, motor oil, paints, solvents, plastics, and other hazardous materials released as buildings fell. Joaquín Benítez, director of Environmental Sustainability at Andrés Bello Catholic University, confirmed that authorities are separating contaminated debris from reusable material.
Benítez also reported seeing accounts that some debris may have been dumped along the coast or into the sea during the initial emergency response. Local journalists stated this practice was halted after the first few days. If debris containing hazardous materials reaches coastal waters, contaminants could affect water quality and marine ecosystems, while large volumes of sediment could reshape shorelines.
Diego Díaz Martín, president of environmental organization Vitalis, warned that seasonal rains could trigger landslides on earthquake-weakened hillsides. He also cautioned that damage to sensitive ecosystems may remain undetected due to unassessed areas, urging authorities to rebuild outside landslide-prone zones.
Systemic Neglect and Public Health
Access to safe drinking water has become one of the biggest challenges for affected communities. Even where tanker trucks supply water, Carolina de Jesús stated, it doesn’t necessarily mean the water has been properly treated. Unsafe water and inadequate sanitation are contributing to diarrheal diseases, urinary tract infections, skin infections, and conditions allowing mosquito-borne diseases to spread.
Dr. Mauricio Cerpa, an epidemiologist with the Pan American Health Organization’s Emergency Operations Center, explained that “Earthquakes do not cause outbreaks by themselves. The risk comes from the post-disaster conditions.” He cited overcrowded shelters, disrupted water and sanitation systems, interrupted healthcare, and reduced vaccination coverage as conditions ripe for disease spread. Cerpa noted 18 priority diseases and public health issues requiring immediate notification, including dengue, malaria, and measles.
Venezuela’s vaccination coverage had already fallen below recommended levels before the earthquakes, intensifying concerns about crowded conditions. Health officials have made disease surveillance in temporary shelters an immediate priority. Alycia Clark, Direct Relief’s vice president and chief pharmacy officer, highlighted that the earthquakes compounded longstanding shortages of medicines, healthcare workers, and medical infrastructure, leaving many patients at risk of missing routine care. Clark warned, “The needs are only going to increase from this point forward.”
Thousands of volunteers and humanitarian workers have joined relief efforts, often amid criticism of the official response’s speed and coordination. De Jesús reported that some volunteers have developed respiratory illnesses from weeks of breathing silica and cement dust. Others have suffered dehydration and diarrheal illnesses during long days in the heat. The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to questions about its response to the environmental and public health impacts of the earthquake.