Caracas, Venezuela, July 22, 2026 — Nearly one month after devastating twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, the window is closing to set the country on a sustainable path toward recovery. Without immediate investment in local economies and livelihood support, the disaster risks spiraling into a deeper humanitarian crisis, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns.
Venezuela was already experiencing protracted economic instability long before the ground began to shake, with over half of the population living in extreme poverty. Years of economic hardship drove roughly 8 million people, mainly young adults, to leave the country. This has left a critical gap in the workforce that has impacted search and rescue efforts and will continue to constrain capacity as the vital early recovery phase begins.
Now, the economic situation threatens to unravel further. An initial assessment by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) estimates direct damage to housing and infrastructure to cost approximately $37 billion. Nearly 8 million people were in humanitarian need in Venezuela before the earthquakes. In just four weeks that number has grown by 1.4 million. As response efforts scale up, access remains complicated by the indefinite closure of the Simón Bolívar International Airport and continuous aftershocks, with over 1,400 since the initial quakes.
"Beyond the destroyed buildings and people being pulled from the rubble, there is a quieter economic devastation that is becoming more visible by the day. For reconstruction efforts to have any hope of success, we must focus serious attention on restarting local economies, supporting small businesses, and getting schools back up and running,” said IRC’s Emergency Response Lead for the Venezuela Earthquakes, Rafael Velasquez Garcia. “With millions of futures in the balance, the time to act is now. Absolutely nothing will stop local communities from lifting each other up if they're given the resources to do so."
The IRC urges the international community to scale up humanitarian funding to support Venezuelans impacted by the earthquakes and the millions who were already in urgent need.
The IRC has been working in Venezuela since 2021 to deliver programs across health, nutrition, protection, education, food security, and livelihoods. As soon as the earthquakes hit, the IRC started scaling up its response to support affected communities, designing and launching ten new programs in tandem with eight local partners on the ground. The IRC will continue its support in the months ahead, providing life-saving assistance and essential protection and early recovery programming to help Venezuela rebuild. Over the past month, the IRC has distributed hundreds of hygiene and water purification kits, supported our partners providing first aid and primary care to 300-400 people every day, and helped reactivate the diagnostic laboratory at the Central University of Caracas to track potential disease outbreaks.