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The Dr. José María Vargas Regional General Hospital in La Guaira exceeded its capacity this Thursday following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela, forcing the triage to be moved to the parking lot of the healthcare facility to accommodate the influx of injured individuals pouring in.
Images and videos shared on social media show the scale of the hospital collapse. "This is the situation here in La Guaira, at the José María Vargas hospital. This is how triage looks."
This is the hospital parking lot. And over there in the stands, we have patients with less severe injuries," described journalist Cristian Crespo in a video posted from the site.
According to a report by the Venezuelan media TalCual from the hospital emergency room, the health center was managing at least 17 lists with the names of injured individuals receiving treatment, while ambulances continued to arrive with new patients at regular intervals.
The hospital collapse is a direct consequence of the two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck Venezuela on Wednesday at 6:04 PM local time, just 39 seconds apart, with epicenters in Yaracuy state and a shallow depth of between 10 and 13 kilometers.
The state of La Guaira was declared a disaster zone and experienced the most severe damage. In addition to José María Vargas, the Pariata Peripheral Hospital, also in La Guaira, suffered the collapse of a wall.
In total, eight hospitals were affected by the seismic activity across the country, along with 20 shopping centers and 250 damaged buildings.
The Venezuelan hospital system had already been suffering from severe deterioration for years before the catastrophe: shortages of medication, outdated equipment, massive brain drain of medical personnel, and lack of infrastructure maintenance.
This previous structural fragility worsened the response to the emergency, causing health centers to quickly collapse under the demand.
The casualty toll has continued to rise throughout this Thursday. Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, updated the figures to 188 dead, 1,520 injured, 157 missing, and 200 people trapped under rubble, with 2,927 families affected.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a Red Alert —its highest level— and estimated a 42% probability that the final death toll could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people, placing this event among the worst natural disasters in recent Latin American history.
The Venezuelan government declared a constitutional state of emergency and suspended classes, the supply of gas, and services at Maiquetía Airport, the Caracas Metro, and the Tuy Valley Railway. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez made a dramatic call for doctors and nurses to immediately report to their workplaces.
The earthquakes on Wednesday were classified as the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900, with over 137 aftershocks counted as of Thursday. The Trump administration announced the immediate deployment of search, rescue, and humanitarian assistance teams to support the affected population.
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