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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Disasters & Emergencies

“We want to return to our homes”: Rains batter camps for the displaced in Caracas

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Torrential rains in Caracas have worsened the living conditions for hundreds of displaced families.
  • These families have been living in makeshift camps since June after their homes were damaged.
  • Residents face constant flooding of their tents and belongings, with no clear timeline for returning home.

Torrential rains in Caracas have devastated makeshift camps housing hundreds of displaced families, exacerbating their already precarious situation. Since June, these residents have been living in tents and tarps outside their damaged buildings, and the recent downpours have left them struggling to dry soaked mattresses, blankets, and clothes.

Areas like the Panteón boulevard and Santa Rosalía parish have been particularly hard-hit. Around 60 families, many of them elderly, reside on the Panteón boulevard near the Belair building. Their tents flooded completely during a Saturday night storm, with tarps collapsing under the weight of the water. "We went to bed at three-thirty in the morning completely soaked. The clothes, the mattresses, the toilet paper, everything. It was chaotic," recounted Belkis Arias, 61.

We went to bed at three-thirty in the morning completely soaked. The clothes, the mattresses, the toilet paper, everything. It was chaotic.

— Belkis AriasDescribing the impact of the torrential rains on her tent in the Panteón boulevard camp.

Josefina Ramírez, 67, also had her mattress soaked and has tried to rearrange her tent to minimize water damage, but the asphalt sidewalk offers little protection. "Last night it got wet again because it's not covered well, the water passes here like a river," she explained, attempting to secure a plastic sheet over her shelter.

Last night it got wet again because it's not covered well, the water passes here like a river.

— Josefina RamírezExplaining how her tent continues to flood despite her efforts to protect it.

While the Belair building is undergoing repairs, residents have been told that work may not finish until December. Despite the hardships, Arias remains determined to stay near her home, expressing a deep longing to return to normalcy. "To sit and eat at my table, sleep in my bed, and be with my children and my grandson peacefully like we were before," she said wistfully.

In Santa Rosalía, near the OPP 10 Housing Mission, 115 families and 116 children live in similar vulnerability, awaiting a response from authorities. The situation highlights the ongoing struggle of those displaced by seismic activity, now compounded by severe weather.

To sit and eat at my table, sleep in my bed, and be with my children and my grandson peacefully like we were before.

— Belkis AriasExpressing her deep desire to return to her home and normal life.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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