Earthquakes in Venezuela

Two powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, 2026. This was the most powerful earthquake sequence to hit the country in more than 125 years.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck near San Felipe, the capital of the state of Yaracuy. Just 39 seconds later a magnitude 7.5 tremor struck near the town of Yumare, within 5 to 10km from the first one. The US Geological Survey (USGS) refer to this as a “doublet”.

At least seven states were affected. More than 9.7 million people have been affected by the earthquakes. As of July 2026, at least 5,500 people had lost their lives and more than 16,700 had been injured.

The earthquake epicentre was close to populated areas and strong ground shaking was felt across a wide region. More than 1,500 aftershocks were recorded in the weeks that followed, adding to safety concerns and disrupting recovery efforts.

The earthquakes caused extensive damage to homes, public buildings and transport networks across northern Venezuela.

Thousands of people remain displaced, with many families still living in temporary shelters, collective centres and informal settlements while longer-term housing solutions are developed.

The disaster struck against a backdrop of existing humanitarian need. More than a quarter of the population already required humanitarian assistance before the earthquakes, making recovery particularly challenging for many families.

Shelter remains one of the most urgent needs as communities work to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

ShelterBox is working with local partners to support families who have lost their homes in the earthquakes.

Our team has visited affected communities to understand people’s needs and identify how we can best support recovery efforts.

Teams reported widespread displacement, with many families living in schools, churches, stadiums and self-created sites alongside roads.

Shelter conditions remain a major concern. Many people are living in overcrowded temporary accommodation, small tents or under tarpaulins that are already deteriorating due to heavy rainfall. Emergency shelter remains one of the most urgent needs, alongside items that improve safety, privacy and dignity.

Supporting families with shelter and essentials

Our response aims to improve living conditions for people affected by the earthquakes. We have already supported families living in government-managed sites with 100 tents, solar lights and mosquito nets.

One of the biggest challenges is finding suitable locations for shelter support. In areas such as La Guaira, communities are concentrated along a narrow coastal strip between the mountains and the sea, limiting the number of suitable sites for shelter support.

With over a quarter of the population already in need of some form of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake, what we’re seeing is a crisis on top of a crisis. The already fragile socio-economic conditions mean we are very concerned about people’s ability to recover.

– Alice Jefferson, ShelterBox Head of Emergency Responses.

Supporting recovery

As the response evolves, the focus is shifting from immediate shelter support to longer-term recovery.

To support longer-term recovery, ShelterBox has developed shelter designs and construction guidance for use across transitional shelter sites. This approach has the potential to improve shelter standards beyond ShelterBox-supported communities.

Together, ShelterBox and Rotary hope to support more than 1,100 households with 650 shelters and essential household items.