When the earthquakes hit Venezuela on 24 June 2026, the ground shook for seconds — but the human response that followed will be remembered for much longer.
Two powerful earthquakes, reported at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck northern Venezuela within seconds of each other, causing severe damage across Caracas, La Guaira and nearby coastal communities. By 6 July, Reuters reported more than 3,500 deaths, over 16,000 injuries and nearly 18,000 people left without housing, with thousands staying in temporary shelters across Caracas and La Guaira. (Reuters)
But behind those numbers, there is another story.
It is the story of neighbours calling into the rubble so trapped people would not lose consciousness. It is the story of volunteers arriving by motorbike from Caracas, carrying water, food, medicine and tools. It is the story of families, shop owners, journalists, engineers, churches, community groups and ordinary residents doing what Venezuelans have often done in moments of crisis: organising themselves when formal systems are too slow, too overwhelmed or simply not enough.
This is not about romanticising suffering. Venezuelan resilience should never be used as an excuse for poor infrastructure, weak emergency systems or delayed institutional responses. Resilience is not a replacement for government responsibility.
But it is worth asking: what can we learn from Venezuelan community self-management?
- The first emergency network is often the neighbourhood
In La Guaira, El Pitazo reported that relatives, neighbours and volunteers were speaking continuously to people trapped under collapsed buildings, trying to keep them awake and emotionally connected while formal rescue capacity was stretched. In some areas, residents used whatever tools they had available to remove debris and search for survivors. (El Pitazo)
That detail stayed with me.
Sometimes community work is not a program, a policy or a funding proposal. Sometimes it is a voice saying: “We are here. Stay with us. Don’t give up.”
In emergency management language, we might call this “local response capacity”. In Venezuelan language, we might simply call it solidaridad de vecinos — neighbours showing up.
- Self-management is practical, not theoretical
Crónica Uno described how civil society mobilised “in motos, cars and boats” to take help to people affected by the earthquakes. In Santa Mónica, Caracas, a group of volunteer motorbike riders reportedly loaded their bikes with water, non-perishable food, medicine, medical supplies and rescue tools before travelling towards La Guaira. More than 30 riders left from one collection point, supported by neighbours, customers and local businesses. (Crónica Uno)
This is community self-management in real life.
Not a committee meeting first. Not waiting for perfect conditions. Just immediate questions:
Who has transport?
Who has fuel?
Who has tools?
Who can collect donations?
Who knows the safest route?
Who can contact families?
Who can stay behind and coordinate?
In crises, communities become logistics systems. The people who already know each other — the neighbour, the shop owner, the local leader, the WhatsApp group admin, the person with the ute, the person with the motorbike — become essential infrastructure.
- Lived experience can become leadership
One of the most powerful stories reported by El Pitazo was that of Elvis Boada, a young electrical engineer from Catia La Mar who lost his home in the earthquakes. Instead of remaining paralysed by grief, he joined rescue efforts in Caracas using borrowed equipment and donated clothes. (El Pitazo)
There is something deeply Venezuelan in that response: “I have lost something, but I can still help someone.”
This is not because Venezuelans are magically stronger than others. It is because many Venezuelans have had to develop survival intelligence over years of economic, political and social crisis. People have learned how to improvise, connect, share, repair, negotiate and keep moving.
That knowledge is not informal in the sense of being unimportant. It is community expertise.
- Hope is also a rescue tool
Another story, also reported by El Pitazo, tells of Andreina Ibarra, who was trapped for 12 hours with her 13-year-old daughter and their dog after their apartment collapsed in Catia La Mar. Her neighbours became improvised rescuers, searching for tools and working through the debris until they could get them out. (El Pitazo)
It is impossible to read these stories without feeling the weight of the tragedy. But it is also impossible to ignore the role of emotional support, faith and human connection.
In many emergencies, the technical response matters: engineering, medicine, rescue equipment, coordination, communications. But so does the emotional response.
Who sits with the elderly person who is shaking?
Who comforts the child who has lost everything?
Who organises food for the volunteers?
Who prays, translates, calls relatives overseas, or simply holds someone’s hand?
Community self-management includes care.
- Diaspora communities also have a role
For those of us in the Venezuelan diaspora — including here in Australia — the earthquakes raise an important question: how do we respond from afar in a way that is useful, ethical and coordinated?
The answer is not panic. The answer is organised solidarity.
Diaspora communities can help by verifying information before sharing it, supporting trusted donation channels, amplifying local civil society voices, connecting professionals, mobilising bilingual information, and advocating for transparent humanitarian support.
We can also learn something for our own multicultural communities in Australia. Disasters expose the strength — or weakness — of local networks. The time to build those networks is not after the crisis. It is now.
What Venezuelan self-management teaches us
The June 2026 earthquakes remind us that resilience is not just an individual attitude. It is a collective practice.
It looks like neighbours knowing each other’s names.
It looks like community leaders having updated contact lists.
It looks like churches, schools, businesses and volunteers knowing how to coordinate.
It looks like migrants and diaspora groups staying connected to their countries of origin while contributing skills and resources from where they are.
It looks like ordinary people becoming first responders before the official response arrives.
For Australia’s multicultural sector, there is a powerful lesson here.
Community resilience is not built by emergency plans alone. It is built through trust, language access, cultural knowledge, local leadership and the everyday habit of showing up for one another.
Venezuela’s tragedy is heartbreaking. But the response of its people also reminds us of something important: when communities are organised, connected and trusted, they can protect life, dignity and hope — even in the middle of devastation.
May the people of Venezuela receive the support, transparency and humanitarian assistance they urgently need. And may we honour their resilience not only with admiration, but with action.
Sources used include Reuters, El Pitazo, Crónica Uno, Al Jazeera, Amnesty International and Miyamoto International’s earthquake update. Amnesty also stressed that resilience must be matched by human rights-based relief, access to information, press freedom and support for local civil society organisations. (amnesty.org)
