Earthquakes devastate Venezuelan health centrespublished at 21:41 BST
Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
Just a few moments ago, I spoke to César Jiménez, an aid worker for Project Hope. The US-headquartered global health and humanitarian NGO operates 55 health centres in eight Venezuelan states, including in the earthquake-stricken areas of Caracas, Miranda and La Guaira.
I asked him whether Venezuela and the various organisations that work in the country were prepared for a disaster of this magnitude, which comes after years of economic woes and political strife.
“No country could have been prepared, but we were trying,” he responded. “But this type of disaster took us by surprise. There was no planning for this. You can’t even count the number of people that are looking for help. All of their buildings have been wrecked, entirely.”
Jiménez was at home with his family when the earthquakes struck.
“It started quite softly,” he tells me. “But it got more intense very quickly. It surprised us that it lasted so long, over a minute.”
As it became stronger, Jiménez tried to shelter near a column inside his house, alongside his family.
“It was so strong we couldn’t stay on our feet,” he recalls. “The electricity went out. The cabinets and the TV broke. We left immediately out onto the street, and all our neighbours were there. That’s when the aftershocks happened.”
Soon after the earthquakes, Project Hope staff across the country began inspecting the various health centres.
Some of them, particularly in La Guaira, had severe structure damage. Some are no longer stable.
“They are collapsing under the weight of people who are coming in looking for help,” he says.
The challenge now, Jiménez explains, is meeting the urgent need for medical supplies including bandages, sutures and medicines.
Donations and volunteers are already coming into the organisation, but he says more help is needed.
