Wales raises £500,000 for earthquake appeal as hospitals struggle to cope with csaualties

Nation.Cymru staff

People in Wales have donated £500,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Venezuela Earthquake Appeal, as aid agencies warn hospitals are being overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.

The total, announced by DEC Cymru, includes a £50,000 donation from the Welsh Government. Across the UK, the appeal has raised more than £8 million since it launched on 1 July, with £2 million in UK Aid Match funding secured within 24 hours.

The money will support emergency relief efforts following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela more than a week ago.

More than 2,500 people are known to have died and more than 12,400 have been injured, while tens of thousands remain unaccounted for. More than 96,000 buildings are believed to have been damaged or destroyed.

Aid agencies say hospitals in La Guaira and the wider Caracas area are under severe pressure, with at least 38 hospitals damaged by the earthquakes.

Essential medicines are in short supply, while one hospital in La Guaira is reportedly treating 96 patients in a ward designed for just eight. Damage to infrastructure has left parts of the hospital without running water, power for medical equipment or internet access, with water having to be carried in by hand.

The DEC brings together 15 UK aid charities during international emergencies. Fourteen are responding in Venezuela, including the British Red Cross, Christian Aid and Save the Children, working alongside local organisations.

The Venezuelan Red Cross has established a field hospital in La Guaira to provide emergency treatment for those injured.

Fatima Andraca, Save the Children’s Country Director in Venezuela, said: “Hospitals have been damaged and are strained with the thousands of injuries they are trying to treat. If illnesses or other health risks intensify, the pressure on the health system will only worsen.

“Families urgently need access to clean and safe drinking water, adequate shelter, and mobile health care if they do get sick.

“The earthquakes have already taken a devastating toll on children. Now a lack of adequate shelter, clean water and exposure to the elements including heavy downpours are creating a second emergency, exposing families sleeping outdoors or in informal settlements to new health risks.”

‘Overwhelming’

Siân Stephen, External Relations Manager for DEC Cymru, said: “The situation in Venezuela is overwhelming and there is an urgent need for international assistance and to continue to scale up the humanitarian response.

“Local people have been on the front line of the humanitarian relief efforts but are also members of the affected community and cannot shoulder this alone.

“Our appeal has raised £500,000 in Wales in a short time and we are tremendously grateful for these generous donations. Please share the word about the appeal and donate if you can – the solidarity will mean so much to the people caught up in this terrible tragedy.”

Mari Tutesigensi, Head of Christian Aid Cymru, said DEC partners were working with local organisations to deliver life-saving water, food, health kits to treat basic injuries and emergency shelter to some of the worst-hit communities in the country.

You can donate to the appeal here