Venezuela earthquake: Venezuelans in U.S. rush to send aid to earthquake victims, but Caracas airport is closed

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 26, 2026 05:04 am IST - Washington People react during an earthquake at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Photo: Wilmer Azuaje/via Reuters Venezuelans in the U.S. rushed to organize donation drives on Thursday (June 25, 2026) after devastating earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and injured hundreds more in their home country. The United States government and other countries also pledged aid. Oscar Torres and thousands of others spent the last 24 hours keeping up with a flurry of messages posted to a WhatsApp group that connects people in Venezuela with their families. He lives in Doral, Florida, a city outside Miami that’s home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S. “Already this morning, I was looking at the group in Doral and everybody’s pitching in — money, medicine, water. First, necessity items,” said Torres, a sales manager who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 1995. “They’re talking about making the first shipment ASA In Washington, the Trump administration said it’s sending $150 million to support relief efforts by aid groups and the United Nations, according to a U.S. State Department news release. Meanwhile, the U.S. government was mobilizing a disaster response team to Venezuela that includes two urban search and rescue teams from fire departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. The U.S. military, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise January drug arrest, will provide aircraft to help assess damage, assist searches and deliver aid. Other countries including Mexico and Colombia also promised assistance. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes Wednesday night caused severe damage to the country’s main airport in the capital of Caracas, which could hamper efforts to get aid into the country quickly. The quakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century. In photos and videos of the aftermath, injured children, animals and civilians are seen covered in dust and blood being pulled out of concrete rubble. In addition to those killed and injured, thousands more were reported missing — leaving many families members in the U.S. scrambling for updates. More than 7,70,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities settling in Texas and Utah, in addition to Florida. In the Houston area, home to a large Venezuelan community, residents used community Facebook groups and other social media to spread the word about local donation sites. First aid and medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, face masks, syringes, thermometers and blood pressure monitors all were in demand. Local resident Daniel Arenas translated a Spanish-language post into English and shared it Thursday (June 25, 2026) on his LinkedIn page hoping people across Houston would step up and donate. “I came to this country 10 years ago, built a life here, but my heart is still in Venezuela,” Arenas said. “It’s devastating what’s happening over there. They don’t have the resources to handle this.” Arenas, a maritime industry consultant, said that his wife is concerned about her aunt, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Caracas and sent a distraught message on WhatsApp after the quakes hit. “She was crying and screaming and saying she was in pain but not sure from where,” Arenas said. “She said she lost everything. She was desperate.” Arenas said his wife was later able to reach her aunt. Many of the sites mobilizing donations are in Katy, a suburb about 30 miles (48 km) west of downtown Houston that’s earned the nickname “Katyzuela” because of its high concentration of Venezuelans. Luis Angarita, who lives in Katy, said his younger sister and family were forced to sleep outside in a park after their home was damaged in the mountain community of Caribia, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Caracas. Angarita’s sister told him in a WhatsApp message that she’s trying to get everyone to their father’s home on the other side of the c

Venezuela earthquake: Venezuelans in U.S. rush to send aid to earthquake victims, but Caracas airport is closed

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Venezuela earthquake: Venezuelans in U.S. rush to send aid to earthquake victims, but Caracas airport is closed

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