Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Venezuela are working to account for church members and assess damage to churches after twin earthquakes measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 struck the country on June 24, toppling buildings, disrupting communications, and leaving at least 32 people dead, hundreds injured and missing.
One young Adventist member has been confirmed dead, while communication outages in La Guaira—the state hardest hit by the earthquakes—have hindered efforts to determine the condition of members in several affected communities, church leaders reported. Local church leaders have also reported structural damage to several Adventist church buildings as assessments continue.
The earthquakes, among the strongest recorded in Venezuela in more than a century, prompted a large-scale emergency response as rescue crews searched for survivors and officials worked to restore critical services and evaluate damage across several affected states.
Response Amid Communication Challenges
Pastor Luis Paredes, president of the East Venezuela Union based in Caracas, described the disaster as one of the most devastating natural events to affect the country in recent memory.
“This is a tragedy of great magnitude,” Paredes said. “Our greatest concern right now is La Guaira. Communications remain down, making it difficult to establish contact with many of our members.”
He said pastors and church leaders continue working to verify the condition of members while congregations throughout the region have already begun collecting food, drinking water, clothing, medicine, and other essential supplies for affected families.
Paredes said he and several church employees are temporarily staying at the union headquarters as authorities continue warning of possible aftershocks. Although his apartment building, where he lives on the 10th floor, did not sustain structural damage, they decided to remain at the office as a precaution.
Across the affected region, many families—including Adventist members—have also been unable to return home as government officials continue urging residents to stay out of buildings until they are declared safe.
Lenny Hernández, communication director for the East Venezuela Union, experienced the earthquake firsthand while at home with his wife and two children in Caracas.
“Within minutes of arriving home, the whole building began to shake violently,” Hernández said. “We grabbed our children and ran down the stairs as quickly as we could.”
While fleeing the building, Hernández suffered a leg injury from shattered glass. Unable to find immediate medical attention in Caracas, he traveled more than an hour to a neighboring city before receiving treatment.
“Thank God we’re alive because it could have been much worse,” he said. “The situation is difficult. Many places are still without electricity or telephone service, and we are trying to learn more about how our members have been affected.”
ADRA Activates Emergency Response
Meanwhile, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Venezuela has activated its National Emergency Management Plan and is coordinating its response with ADRA Inter-America, local church leaders, government agencies, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and other humanitarian partners.
Rafael Benítez, director of ADRA Venezuela, said initial assessments point to significant humanitarian needs in search and rescue, emergency shelter, safe water and sanitation, food assistance, and medical care, particularly in the states of Yaracuy and Carabobo.
The agency is preparing to distribute 1,000 emergency food kits, prioritizing the most vulnerable households, including families headed by women, households with young children, older adults, and persons with disabilities. Field assessment teams are also being deployed to gather on-site information and determine additional humanitarian needs.
An Opportunity to Show Compassion
As ADRA teams mobilized across the region, Rubén Ponce, director of ADRA Inter-America, said the disaster presents an opportunity for the church to put its faith into action by standing alongside those who have lost so much.
“This disaster gives us an opportunity, as the ADRA network and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters,” Ponce said.
Ponce encouraged Adventists throughout the Inter-American Division (IAD) to respond not only in prayer but through tangible acts of service and generosity.
“It is a time to demonstrate the love of Christ and be a source of hope amid anguish,” he said. “Today, more than ever, it is time to make a difference.”
Echoing that appeal, IAD President Pastor Abner De los Santos called on Adventists throughout the territory to respond with compassion and prayer.
“Every time we face situations like these, God gives us an opportunity to show compassion,” De los Santos said during an online leadership meeting on June 25. “May the Lord help us demonstrate the compassion we are called to show as His people.”
De los Santos said the Inter-American Division (IAD) remains in close communication with church leaders in Venezuela and will continue supporting relief efforts through ADRA Inter-America as assessments continue. He also encouraged members across the IAD to keep the people of Venezuela, emergency responders, and local church leaders in their prayers as recovery efforts move forward.
As rescue and recovery efforts continue, church leaders said they remain committed to supporting affected communities through pastoral care, humanitarian assistance, and the hope found in Christ during the difficult days ahead.
Gabriela Becerra contributed information to this article.
To read the original article, please go here.
