After the Earthquakes in Venezuela: Survivors Between Hope and Shattered Infrastructure

Emergency physician Tankred Stöbe of Doctors Without Borders explains the background to such rescues. The first 48 hours are decisive. After that, the chance of survival drops with every hour. There are people who are pulled out alive after three to four days. Stöbe puts the findings into perspective: These are rare miracles and can only be explained by particularly favorable external circumstances.

Triple Disaster: Earthquakes, Building Stock, and the Health System

Stöbe describes the situation as a triple disaster. Venezuela is experiencing a triple disaster: the most severe tectonic shocks in generations are hitting unstable buildings and a dilapidated health system. In addition, the earthquake strikes a completely dilapidated health system that was already unable to care for the population in normal times and is now collapsing. At the same time, one must be aware that an event of this magnitude would place extraordinary strain even on the most advanced health systems in the world.

Many earthquake victims are complaining about the government's poor crisis management. Carolina, whose husband was in the apartment at the time of the quake, sleeps at a friend's place in the evenings and stands in front of the rubble of her house again at seven in the morning. In the evenings, when the machines stop working, she sleeps at a friend's place, she says. The next day, at seven in the morning, Carolina is back here. She says: I hope my husband is alive. Why? Because God can make anything possible. There have been people who were rescued alive after many days under earthquake rubble. That is my hope.

A few kilometers further, a baseball stadium has been turned into a camp for rescue workers from around the world. German helpers are also on the ground: the German ambassador to Venezuela, Volker Pellet, visits the rescue workers from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW). The THW has now ended its deployment. The organization is leaving its tents, equipment, and medicines in Venezuela as a gift. Ambassador Volker Pellet assesses the situation: The people who have now lost everything need sustained support. It is about ensuring that these people can live in homes again, can have work again. That is a challenge for a country that has already had considerable economic problems over the past 25 years.

International Aid and Diplomatic Visit

During a visit to the earthquake zone, President Delcy Rodríguez thanks the German helpers. She says: Look, you can see the deployment of the German delegation, the rescue workers, all the technical equipment, the emergency personnel, as well as the search-and-rescue dogs. What I have seen is international cooperation in the spirit of solidarity and togetherness. The ZDF team was granted a brief exclusive interview with the president during the visit.

Medical Care at Its Limit

Medically, the situation is precarious for survivors. The injuries include bone fractures, soft-tissue crush injuries, and organ damage. Those rescued often suffer from crush syndrome, a life-threatening kidney injury caused by the crushing of muscle tissue that urgently requires dialysis. But dialysis is hardly possible in the destroyed areas. Stöbe warns: A lack of medical care, no dialysis option, no antibiotics, too few painkillers. All of these are real risks in Venezuela.

Where cars fail, volunteer bikers deliver relief supplies to hard-to-reach earthquake zones in Venezuela. They bypass destroyed roads and traffic jams, coordinated by influencers and motorcycle clubs. In La Guaira, countless destroyed houses, huge mountains of debris, and traumatized people shape the scene in the coastal region. For the first time in a long while, the government allowed international journalists to enter the country, because it wants the whole world to see what is happening here right now.

Stöbe soberly summarizes the chances of survival under the rubble: Without food, people can last up to two weeks; without liquid, however, only two to three days. Survival therefore depends on the oxygen supply, the temperature, the state of health, the severity of the injuries, the presence of cavities, and the supply of food and water.

As international aid gets underway, the situation remains uncertain for many families. For thousands of missing people there is still no confirmed news, and every hour diminishes the hope that Carolina will see her husband alive again.