Venezuela Earthquakes Leave 18,000 Homeless as Mobile Clinics Treat Chronic Illnesses

Twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 have produced a surge in chronic illnesses among survivors seeking care at mobile clinics set up in the northern state of La Guaira. @ABC reported that doctors in Catia La Mar recorded increases in skin conditions, diarrheal diseases, and requests for medications to treat diabetes and high blood pressure. U.N.

Relief chief Tom Fletcher, who visited the area, told The Associated Press that patients at displacement sites are arriving with longer-term health needs after two weeks without regular treatment. “It is clear at displacement sites that, particularly after two weeks, that people are turning up because they haven’t been able to get their other treatments,” Fletcher said.

” Irma Echarri, 67, visited a mobile clinic on a sidewalk in Catia La Mar for nose pain that began after the quakes and to refill eyedrops and pain relievers.

“It hurts a lot,” she said. ” Zulbey Reyes, 41, sought treatment at a clinic run by Paluz and the International Rescue Committee for chest pain that started after the June 24 events; she was diagnosed with an inflamed nerve. Venezuelan officials said the back-to-back quakes killed 3,889 people, collapsed 190 buildings, and damaged 856 others.

The government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez estimated that about 18,000 people lost their homes and are now living in schools, sidewalks, parks, and plazas. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction put direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at around $37 billion.

The United Nations launched an appeal for roughly $300 million to help 1.3 million people in urgent need.