Tens of thousands of people missing as twin earthquakes devastate Venezuela by OCHA, news agencies   8 July 2026   UN relief chief urges scaled-up support for Venezuela’s earthquake recovery. (OCHA)   "Two weeks on: I think it's fair to say – and I was in La Guaira yesterday evening, one of the epicenters of this double earthquake – people are in shock and despair.   There is a moment on these rescue sites, and these are very noisy sites, as you can imagine, you have the noise of the diggers, the heavy machinery, the different teams trying to retrieve people from the rubble, and I was standing with groups of mothers who go to the site there every day in the hope of finding any evidence of their children.   And there are moments on the site when one of the recovery team members will raise their hand, and everything falls silent. The machines fall silent, and this is because they have heard, or they hope they have heard, the tiniest noise from beneath the rubble, and everyone stops in the hope that this is a sign of life.   And to stand with those mothers and fathers at that moment as they hope against all hope that this is maybe, two weeks later, their child, in a building of 14 stories which is reduced to a few feet in height. And then, after a couple of minutes of silence, the emergency worker raises two arms to signify that they haven't heard a sound, and the digging and the searching continues.   Those mothers asked me last night: Is help coming?   There can only be one answer to that question. It's really important to note that the key responders in this crisis have been local communities, those who went out from the first moment to search for their neighbours and their loved ones, and who are offering support with whatever limited resources they have.   Over 50 urban search-and-rescue teams from over 30 countries have come to assist, UN Agencies and NGO humanitarian organisations are on the ground doing everything they can with the resources available to support those in this time of overwhelming need. The Government is actively engaged as we work together to plan the next phase of the response.   Our team here has produced the rapid needs assessment. This is data collected from across the humanitarian family to make sure that we are working on the most urgent priorities, which right now focus on shelter; on health; on water, sanitation and hygiene; food security; protection; education; and early recovery.   The earthquakes have, of course, compounded existing needs. Almost 8 million people already in need of humanitarian support across Venezuela. And let's be clear, everything we do on the humanitarian side must be time-limited and focused on the transition across to recovery, early recovery, rebuilding, reconstruction, and long-term development.   Based on the assessments that we've made alongside the Government – these are not just UN assessments they are Government assessments with the United Nations team – the multi-sectoral needs of an additional 1.3 million people who face socioeconomic needs over the next 6 months, who require life-saving support, means we need $627 million in funding to address those urgent needs.   My key ask of Member States and donors is please translate the solidarity that we've heard, into this practical support. We're asking you to invest in the essential basic services that provide life-sustaining support - health systems, medical needs, water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter, food assistance, education – as we make this pivot from search-and-rescue through humanitarian and into the vital, vital development response.   We of course will support the efforts to ensure sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets so vital to the response.   International solidarity must not finish as we move through this search-and-rescue response and into this next support phase. We have to show that we will answer the question from those mothers – that help is coming".   http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories   25 June 2026   Two powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitude-7.5 and 7.2, have struck Venezuela near the capital Caracas.   Venezuela is in a state of emergency, with a major search and rescue operation underway, after the worst earthquakes in more than 100 years hit the country.   Rescuers are searching through rubble in a rush to save lives. In Caracas and the nearby coastal city of La Guaira, people could be heard calling for help from under the debris of collapsed buildings.   Jorge Rodríguez, who heads Venezuela's national assembly, reported over 4,500 people have died, and over 16,700 people were injured, with 50,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. (Update: 12 July)   Acting/Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said the death toll was expected to climb as rescue workers began searching in one of the worst-hit areas, La Guaira, a coastal region just north of Caracas.   "Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives," Ms Rodríguez said in a national address.   Aftershocks have continued to ripple through the quake area, with at least 30 recorded after the two earthquakes, Delcy Rodríguez told state-run television channel Venezolana de Television.   The US Geological Survey, using predictive modelling to estimate the death toll, said the death toll could run into the thousands.   Authorities have not provided an official figure for those reported missing, but more than 50,000 people have been reported as missing on a website called Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela, translated as people missing in the Venezuela earthquake.   The governmental response is focused on search-and-rescue operations, emergency medical care and damage assessment. The impact has been severe and widespread, affecting critical infrastructure, public services and housing in several states, with the greatest concentration in the Capital District, La Guaira, Miranda, Carabobo and Yaracuy.   Electricity, water, telecommunications and transport networks have been severely disrupted. Hospitals are operating under emergency protocols as they treat large numbers of injured people.   The United Nations is assisting the Government in coordinating the rescue operation with many people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.   UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher says aid workers were "mobilizing to support the people of Venezuela following the deadly and devastating earthquakes."   He said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was coordinating the deployment of urban search and rescue teams from various countries offering help.   "The coming days and months will require a massive collective effort to support the Government-led response and help communities."   Tom Fletcher noted how even before Wednesday's quake, 8 million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support, a situation that was now only likely to deteriorate.   The destruction will worsen living conditions for millions of Venezuelans in an "already severe" humanitarian crisis, the charity Oxfam warned.   "It’s an enormous catastrophe," says Stine Paus, Latin America Region Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). "There are huge needs for international support," she says.   "People will need support with shelter which is much needed, water and sanitation, and to make sure infectious diseases are not spreading. There are lots of children in need of support".   Cesar Jimenez, an aid worker for Project Hope, a health and humanitarian NGO that operates health centres in eight Venezuelan states, including in the earthquake-stricken areas of Caracas, Miranda and La Guaira said, “no country could have been prepared for a disaster of this magnitude". "You can’t even count the number of people that are looking for help. All of their buildings have been wrecked, entirely.”   Many residents spent the night in the streets or searching for their families in Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, one of the hardest hit regions of Venezuela. They spoke to news agency AFP.   "Right now we have nothing, not even the strength or the courage to go in there," Larry Rojas, 49, says as he stands in front of a collapsed building where his family are trapped.   "There are people alive in there and no one is coming to save them," a woman says as she awaits news of her daughter who was buried in the rubble of a 12-storey building.   A journalist in Caracas described seeing "desperation" from people on the streets of the capital following the earthquakes. Manu Quintero told BBC News that it felt like "the world was moving for a long time" when the earthquakes struck, adding that the two quakes felt like "one massive long earthquake".   He was speaking from the site of a collapsed 14-storey residential building, which he says contained 27 apartments, adding that rescue teams had so far found two bodies and no survivors.   The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says among the "most urgent anticipated needs" are search and rescue as well emergency shelter and health care. Safe water and sanitation, alongside essential household items, are expected to be priorities in the days ahead.   UNICEF estimates that 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, are in need of humanitarian assistance following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June.   Preliminary satellite analysis found that nearly a third of buildings in the worst-hit area assessed so far, Catia La Mar in La Guaira state, have been damaged.   “Three days into the response, the scale of need is becoming clearer,” said Manuel Rodriguez Pumarol, UNICEF Representative in Venezuela. “Hospitals are operating beyond capacity, thousands of children don’t have reliable access to safe water, and many schools have been damaged. UNICEF is working with the Government of Venezuela and partners to scale up support for children and families, and continued funding will be critical to sustaining that response in the weeks and months ahead.”   http://reliefweb.int/disaster/eq-2026-000093-ven http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-680000-children-estimated-be-need-humanitarian-assistance-after-venezuela http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/statement-principals-inter-agency-standing-committee-venezuela http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2026/06/120163/venezuela-quake-key-services-crippled-and-health-workers-missing http://www.wfp.org/stories/wfp-ramps-food-and-other-assistance-venezuela-earthquake-response http://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-07-07/over-100-economists-ask-us-to-lift-sanctions-on-venezuela-to-ease-the-impact-of-the-earthquakes.html Visit the related web page
	Acute food insecurity is expected to worsen further for millions by Hunger Hotspots report World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization   17 June 2026   The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that acute food insecurity is expected to worsen further for millions of people across 13 countries deemed “hunger hotspots” between June and November 2026.   The latest edition of the Hunger Hotspots report, released twice a year through the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), identifies Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Palestine as among the world's most critical hunger hotspots in terms of severity and magnitude of hunger.   Northeast Nigeria has been added to the list of highest concern, following projections indicating that populations in Borno State may face Catastrophe levels of acute food insecurity (defined as an extreme lack of food / other basic needs, with starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels evident) during the upcoming period covered by the report. Somalia has also been placed in this category with populations in the Bay region of Burhakaba District facing a risk of Famine.   Armed conflict and violence remain the major drivers of acute food insecurity, affecting 12 of the 13 hotspots. These pressures are compounded by economic shocks, severe funding shortfalls and growing risks linked to a forecast El Nino event, which is expected to bring uneven rainfall, droughts, and flooding across countries with already high vulnerability.   The warning comes at a time of unprecedented funding shortfalls for humanitarian response. Funding for food assistance, emergency agricultural assistance and nutrition in food crises has declined by an estimated 59 percent between 2022 and 2025, returning to levels last seen nearly a decade ago. At the same time, the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity in these countries has risen to around 266 million.   The report also warns that additional shocks are worsening the outlook for millions. This is due to recent events such as the ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East and the Ebola outbreak in areas of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These added shocks risk further disrupting livelihoods, markets and humanitarian access.   “The warnings in this report cannot be ignored,” said WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau. “Conflict, shocks, and disasters are forcing families to make impossible decisions about who gets to eat and who goes to bed hungry. Without action now, millions more are expected to face worsening levels of hunger in the months ahead, pushing some closer to famine. Our teams are ready to respond at speed and scale. We need resources to deliver food and access to reach people before hunger turns into catastrophe.”   Hotspots of highest concern   In Sudan, a risk of Famine has been identified in 14 areas across North Darfur, South Darfur and South Kordofan through September 2026, and is expected to persist in 13 areas through the harvest period into January 2027. An estimated 19.5 million people — 41 percent of the population — faced high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) through May 2026, including 5 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4).   The situation is expected to worsen further, with the number of people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) projected to rise to 200,000 across 15 areas in June–September 2026, up from 135,000 in February–May 2026.   In South Sudan, 7.8 million people — 55 percent of the population — are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and July 2026, including 2.5 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and approximately 73,000 people facing Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5). Four counties are projected to face the risk of Famine through July 2026.   In Yemen, acute food insecurity is expected to remain among the most severe globally in 2026. In earlier estimates, 18.3 million people were projected to face crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) levels of acute food insecurity, representing over half the population. This includes 5.5 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 41,000 people projected to face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) in Sanaa-based authority-controlled areas in 2026.   According to more recent partial analysis, nearly 5.4 million people in Government-controlled areas are projected to face Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3 or above) levels of acute food insecurity between June and September 2026.   In Northeast Nigeria the outlook is most severe in Borno State, where 15,000 people are projected to face Catastrophe (CH Phase 5) during June-August 2026. Around 2.3 million people remain internally displaced across the North East.   In Palestine, conditions in the Gaza Strip have improved since the October 2025 ceasefire but remain fragile. The entire territory faced a risk of Famine through mid-April 2026, with 1.6 million people acutely food insecure and requiring urgent assistance (77 percent of the population analysed) including over half a million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 1900 people projected to face Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5). No projection was available covering the Hunger Hotspots outlook period of June to November 2026 at the time of the report’s drafting.   In Somalia, around 6 million people were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2026, including nearly 1.9 million projected to face Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels. There is also now a risk of Famine identified in Burhakaba District. This reflects the broader deterioration in acute food insecurity conditions in the country, stemming from multiple years of drought, record-low crop production, conflict and the ripple effects of the Middle East conflict.   Hotspots of very high concern   Afghanistan remains a hotspot of very high concern, facing consecutive droughts, high food prices, and escalating conflict.   In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acute food insecurity remains severe, driven by conflict in eastern provinces and large-scale displacement. The resurgence of Ebola is adding a dangerous new layer of risk, threatening to worsen acute hunger by disrupting markets, mobility and humanitarian operations.   Haiti, previously among hotspots of highest concern, has moved into the very high concern category, reflecting limited and localized improvements including slowing inflation and better access along some road corridors, though conditions remain very fragile.   Other hotspots   Myanmar and Mali are identified as hotspots, where conditions are expected to deteriorate as conflict, economic pressures and climate variability compound vulnerability. Lebanon and Madagascar have been added to the list of hotspots as a result of the escalation of hostilities in late February 2026 and adverse and erratic weather conditions, respectively.   Overall, the report points to a worsening outlook for millions of people in the second half of 2026, with unprecedented levels of catastrophic hunger persisting or threatening multiple contexts. It also highlights the importance of acting early to prevent the most severe outcomes.   What needs to be done   Through the Global Network Against Food Crises, FAO and WFP are calling for urgent, coordinated action to scale up humanitarian assistance, ensure safe access, invest in livelihoods and strengthen resilience.   The report underscores that early action saves lives, protects livelihoods and is significantly more cost-effective than responding after crises have escalated.   Without stronger political commitment, predictable financing and collective action, hunger crises are likely to deepen across the world's most vulnerable regions in the months ahead.   http://www.wfp.org/news/new-fao-wfp-report-warns-worsening-hunger-puts-13-hotspots-significant-risk http://www.fightfoodcrises.net/hunger-hotspots   Definition of IPC levels of food insecurity — crisis, emergency, and catastrophe/famine   * IPC3 refers to “crisis” levels of food insecurity, in which households either have food consumption gaps that are reflected by high or above-usual acute malnutrition; or are marginally able to meet minimum food needs but only by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis-coping strategies   IPC4 refers to “emergency” levels of food insecurity in which households either have large food consumption gaps which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality; or are able to mitigate large food consumption gaps but only by employing emergency livelihood strategies and asset liquidation.   IPC5 refers to “catastrophe/famine” levels of food insecurity in which households have an extreme lack of food and/or other basic needs even after full employment of coping strategies. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident. (For Famine classification, an area needs to have extreme critical levels of acute malnutrition and mortality). Visit the related web page
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