Venezuela
Magnitude 7.5 earthquake
On June 24, 2026, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela within 39 seconds of each other. The first measured magnitude 7.2 and was immediately followed by a devastating magnitude 7.5 earthquake, causing catastrophic damage across northern and central Venezuela. The hardest-hit areas include La Guaira and the capital city of Caracas, where entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble.
As search and rescue operations continue, more than 1,700 people have been confirmed dead, over 5,000 have been injured, and more than 43,000 remain missing. Rescue teams from Venezuela and around the world are racing against time to locate survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
A team has arrived in Venezuela and is working on establishing a base and beginning the work on the ground. Our initial focus is to connect with our partners on the ground, assess the needs, and come alongside the local response efforts wherever we can be most helpful.
What we are doing to help
Here is where we get detailed about what we do. Write from an organizational/personal perspective. If you get writer’s block, think about what you would like to see when you check out another organization’s website.
Make sure to updated the photos to reflect the right field.
A Report From the Ground
Arriving in La Guaira, Venezuela yesterday evening was overwhelming. Everywhere we looked there were stories. Families searching. Orphans. Tears. Rubble. Tents. Camps. Digging. Shock. Loss. Yet in the middle of unimaginable heartbreak, we witnessed something just as powerful: people. The resilience of this community is difficult to describe. In the darkest moments, people move closer together. Neighbors become family. Food and water are shared without hesitation. Strangers ask if you need anything. We have been welcomed with gratitude simply because we came. “Gracias por todo” was written on the food we received. Such simple words, yet they say so much about the people here.
Today we walked towards one of the hundreds apartment buildings in this area that had completely collapsed after the earthquakes. An eleven-story building, now reduced to layers of concrete. A father was searching for his beloved daughter. On our way there, one of our team noticed a young girl standing by herself with tears in her eyes. He simply walked over and offered her a bottle of water. That small act opened the door to a conversation. Through her tears, she shared that her two little brothers were no longer missing, they had been found, crushed beneath the buildings. There were no words that could make sense of such pain. Only a listening ear. Only a hug. We kept asking ourselves: What would Jesus have done?
When we arrived at the collapsed building, we found the father digging through the rubble with his own hands. We offered to take over for a while, knowing how physically exhausting the work is. He quietly stepped aside. His eyes were red. One of our volunteers handed him some water and a granola bar. He pulled out his phone and showed us pictures of his daughter, the daughter he had planned to travel with this summer. Now she lies somewhere beneath the concrete. Again, there were no words. The language barrier left us with little to say, but perhaps words were never what he needed most. Sometimes all you can offer is your presence, a hand on someone’s shoulder, and the assurance that they are not carrying their grief alone.
Just a few meters beneath, another effort was still underway. Another father. Still digging. Eleven days after the earthquakes. He had already found his young son and his mother-in-law. Both had been crushed beneath the rubble. Yet he kept hoping to at least get them out to be able to bury them.
Throughout today we kept returning to the same question: What would Jesus have done? We believe He would have been here, walking through the dust, sitting with those who mourn, offering water to the thirsty, and bringing hope where darkness seems overwhelming. That is what we desire to do. Not because we have the answers, but because we trust that His light shines brightest in the darkest places.
We will continue to be present on the ground and support where needed the most. We would be grateful for your prayers. For strength, wisdom, and comfort for grieving families.
Fulfilling the mission of PCCR often brings our teams into close proximity with those who are facing unimaginable pain and loss. Venezuela has become another one of those places. Disaster has opened the door, and we are grateful that a small team was able to deploy and has arrived in La Guaira.
Our team plans to spend the next 2 weeks working alongside others that are serving there, providing care and support to those who have lost so much. Venezuela has been through so much, the strength of its people a testament to human resilience.
The minimum financial cost to support this response is $10,000. As you are able, would you consider giving financially to support this response? This response is another opportunity for PCCR and our partners to share the compassionate care of Jesus through prayer, service and resources. Remember the people of Venezuela in prayer as they continue to face each new day.
-A Volunteer
Target Areas
the places where we are able to help with food and basic hygiene
Some of the greatest needs are in prisons, where the prisoners haven’t been getting much food for days or weeks, and numerous prisoners have already starved to death. We are already feeding the people in one prison and will be starting in another prison next week. Local pastors and churches are doing the work of cooking and feeding the prisoners, as well as ministering to their spiritual and emotional needs. Some of the prisoners have already accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives.
In the first week of November, we started assisting with the food needs of the people living on an island off the coast of Haiti.
At this point, we are still able to purchase food from what little remains in the country. It’s a complex situation. Haiti has been almost destroyed by humanitarian aid, and we have no desire to further that problem. However, we do have a desire to come alongside the people and keep them alive until they can get going again. Pray for wisdom and direction for us and all the people involved.
Flood Response
Leogane, Haiti got hit very badly by floods that sent a wall of 8 feet of water through the town
In the beginning of June, we sent a team in to help with a flood response in Leogane, Haiti. Haiti had been experiencing droughts, followed by torrents of rain. Typically, the amount of rain would not cause floods, but the waterways, which are normally serviced by the
