The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched a USD 98 million humanitarian appeal to support Venezuela’s recovery from the devastating earthquakes that struck the country in June, warning that millions of dollars in sustained international assistance will be needed to help affected communities rebuild their lives after one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s modern history.
The appeal comes as humanitarian agencies continue to assess the enormous scale of destruction left by the twin earthquakes that rocked Venezuela’s north-central region on 24 June.
The two powerful tremors, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and followed by hundreds of aftershocks, caused catastrophic damage across several states, leaving thousands dead, tens of thousands injured and entire communities struggling to recover.
According to the latest humanitarian assessments, at least 3,535 people have been killed and more than 16,740 others injured since the disaster struck. More than 2,500 pieces of critical infrastructure, including 38 hospitals, have been damaged or destroyed, severely disrupting access to healthcare, clean water, transportation and other essential public services.
The earthquakes affected several of Venezuela’s most populated regions, including La Guaira, Distrito Capital, Miranda, Carabobo, Aragua and Falcón, where thousands of homes collapsed or were declared structurally unsafe. Entire neighbourhoods remain scarred by damaged buildings and broken infrastructure, while many residents continue to live in temporary shelters or open spaces out of fear that aftershocks could trigger further collapses.
Against this backdrop, the IOM noted that its year-long appeal aims to provide emergency relief while helping communities move beyond the immediate crisis toward long-term recovery and resilience.
The funding request outlines a comprehensive 12-month response plan focused on providing safe and dignified shelter, delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance, supporting early recovery programmes and helping communities restore essential services destroyed by the disaster.
According to Lia Poggio, IOM Chief of Mission in Venezuela, “the people of Venezuela have shown remarkable resilience, but recovery will take time and sustained support.”
“This appeal will help ensure that families receive the assistance they need including a place to stay while enabling communities to move beyond the emergency, rebuild essential services, and lay the foundations for a safe and lasting recovery.”
Lia Poggio
Since the earthquakes struck, IOM has been working alongside Venezuelan authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian organisations to coordinate emergency assistance across affected communities.
The agency has managed collective shelters for displaced families, provided healthcare and protection services, coordinated emergency sites and supported vulnerable households with access to critical humanitarian assistance.
According to the organisation, nearly 6,000 displaced people have already received assistance through collective sites under IOM coordination, while more than 10,000 individual services including temporary accommodation, healthcare and protection support have been delivered since the onset of the emergency.
IOM Expands Emergency Response as Humanitarian Needs Grow
The IOM’s response strategy focuses on addressing both immediate humanitarian priorities and the longer-term needs required to restore stability in affected communities.
Priority interventions include emergency shelter, site coordination and management, healthcare services and early recovery programmes designed to help families safely return to their communities where possible.
Working closely with government institutions, local authorities, community organisations and humanitarian partners, IOM aims to strengthen coordination across affected regions while ensuring that assistance reaches both heavily impacted urban centres and underserved rural communities.
Humanitarian assessments indicate that although significant relief operations have been concentrated in La Guaira, Distrito Capital and Miranda, other severely affected states including Falcón, Aragua and Carabobo continue to face substantial gaps in assistance.
Damage to roads, public infrastructure and essential services has made it more difficult to reach many communities in those areas, increasing the risk that vulnerable families could be left behind during recovery efforts.
Aid agencies have also identified growing concerns in overcrowded displacement sites, where limited sanitation facilities, inadequate shelter and weak service provision are increasing the risks of communicable disease outbreaks, family separation, violence against women and girls and other protection challenges.
IOM stated that its integrated response aims not only to address these immediate humanitarian problems, but also to develop community resilience against future disasters by assisting in the restoration of critical services and assisting local institutions in rebuilding capacity.
The agency underlined that recovery from a calamity of this magnitude cannot be accomplished solely through immediate aid. Instead, ongoing international solidarity and long-term investment will be necessary to restore livelihoods, replace destroyed infrastructure, and allow affected communities to recover with dignity.
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