A rescue team in La Guaira has pulled a toddler alive from under the rubble, six days after two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela.
The child, a three-year-old, was rescued in the badly affected northern region, bringing a rare moment of hope as thousands of families continue to struggle in the aftermath of the disaster.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck less than a minute apart on June 24, leaving widespread destruction across several parts of the country.
The United Nations refugee agency warned that the humanitarian situation is getting worse.
“As the death toll rises, needs are skyrocketing,” the agency said in an online alert.
Authorities said nearly 2,000 people have been confirmed dead, while more than 6,400 people have been rescued so far.
Several UN agencies and humanitarian partners are working with local authorities in the hardest-hit areas to provide shelter, healthcare, protection and other basic support to affected families.
“Every life matters,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday, as local and international rescue teams continued operations in La Guaira.
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UN Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) teams are also on the ground to assess the level of damage and identify those most in need of help.
Veronique Durroux, UNDAC public information officer, said the teams are working to know “where and for whom humanitarian assistance is needed”.
So far, about 1,000 buildings, including hospitals, have been damaged or destroyed. More than 400 schools and water systems have also been affected.
To support relief efforts, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sent an initial 47-tonne shipment of emergency supplies to Venezuela on Tuesday.
This followed another regional shipment from Panama that arrived on June 28.
Together, the supplies are expected to support over 100,000 children and families for three months.
“UNICEF is on the ground and working around the clock to reach as many children and families as possible. The first flights with water, medicine and many other supplies have reached the country, and we are grateful for the solidarity. And we ask for donations to UNICEF because with more funds, we can save more lives, reach more children, and reach as many families as possible”, UNICEF’s Gabriel Vockel said in La Guaira.
The shipment, arranged by the European Union through the UNICEF logistics hub in Copenhagen, includes emergency health kits for urgent treatment, safe childbirth, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment.
It also includes water purification materials, storage supplies, tents for child-friendly spaces and wheelchairs.
Other items such as recreational and early childhood development materials were also sent to help children recover emotionally and continue learning.
“Families across the affected states are in urgent need of safe water, as well as access to health care,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Roberto Benes.
“Many are sleeping outside, afraid of more aftershocks. These supplies will help us reach children and families with what they need most right now…But the needs on the ground are far greater than what’s arrived.”
UNICEF said about 680,000 children across the six affected states now need humanitarian support. The agency described the earthquakes as the biggest seismic event to hit Venezuela in more than 100 years.
It also warned that communities are still facing danger from aftershocks.
“Communities remain at risk from continuing aftershocks, which have numbered more than 600 since the initial quakes,” UNICEF said.
UNICEF estimates that $52 million is needed for its emergency response as part of its wider 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for Venezuela, which totals $137.6 million.
Before the earthquakes, the appeal had received only 35 per cent of the funding needed.